Former Nigeria international and coach of the senior national team of Nigeria Samson Siasia has sued world football governing body FIFA in an American court.
Siasia recently got his ban from football reduced by the court of arbitration for sports ( CAS) following a conviction that he conspired to fix a game while at the helm as coach of the Nigerian team.
CAS ruled that the Nigerian didn’t fix any game hence can’t be suspended for life from coaching but they still handed him a light sentence of five years for failing to report that he was approached to fix a game.
In the suit filed against FIFA, the former Nantes forward is among other things, seeking compensation for the ‘damage’ done to his reputation by FIFA with their investigation of an alleged bribery case against him.
“Here, Fédération Internationale de Football Association (“FIFA”), the worldwide governing body of soccer, exercised governmental function when FIFA investigated and adjudicated a charge of bribery, a crime, against Samson Siasia (“Siasia”), a United States citizen, which function has traditionally been exclusively the domain of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the United States Department of Justice, (USDOJ) and the Judicial branch of government or the State government.
“After finding Siasia guilty, FIFA then imposed a fine of 50,000 Swiss Francs and lifetime ban from using his professional coaching license that was issued by the U.S. Soccer Federation. As a result, defendant is in violation of 42 U.S.C. § 1983 of the Civil Rights Act, (“Section 1983”) among others, for depriving plaintiff of his constitutional rights under color of state law,”
Hearing for the case will be fixed soon according to sources close to the coach .
