Siasia Loses Appeal Over Match-fixing Ban

FIFA prevailed in a U.S. appeals court over a former Nigeria national team coach Siasia seeking to overturn his lifetime ban, later reduced to five years, for fixing matches.

In a unilateral decision, the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in Manhattan said Samson Siasia did not show why a trial court in New York had jurisdiction over his case.

FIFA had in 2019 imposed the lifetime ban, saying Siasia violated its code of ethics over a bribery scheme for Australian matches. The ban prevented Siasia from using his U.S. Soccer Federation coaching license.

Siasia sued FIFA in August 2021, saying the evidence was "grossly insufficient" and that the ban violated his due process rights under the U.S. Constitution.

However, the appeals court said Siasia did not show that FIFA was "essentially at home" in New York, or agreed to be sued there because it banned his use of what Siasia called his "New York" coaching license from its alleged New York "agent," U.S. Soccer.

In June 2021, the Court of Arbitration for Sport shortened the ban, calling it too severe for a first offense.