International Football
LINK WITH MATCH-FIXING KING, WILSON RAJ PERUMAL, EARNS SIASIA FIFA’S LIFE BAN
BY KUNLE SOLAJA
It gets from bad to worse for former Nigerian player and coach, Samson Siasia.
He was on Friday handed a life ban by FIFA having been found guilty of match manipulation.
Before then, he was still going through the trauma occasioned by the kidnap of his mother.
In a media release, FIFA revealed that its adjudicatory chamber of the independent Ethics Committee found Siasia, guilty of having accepted that he would receive bribes in relation to the manipulation of matches in violation of the FIFA Code of Ethics.
The formal ethics proceedings against Siasia were initiated on 11 February 2019 and stem from an extensive investigation into matches that Wilson Raj Perumal attempted to manipulate for betting purposes.
Wilson Raj Perumal is a convicted Singaporean match-fixer. He is accused on several match-fixing scandals who was also accused on several match fixing scandals.
He has published his match fixing memoirs in a book titled “Kelong Kings”, written with investigative journalists Alessandro Righi and Emanuele Piano; the book was released on April 28, 2014.
In the book, Perumal claims to have ferried Nigeria and Honduras to the final rounds of the 2010 South Africa FIFA World Cup by fixing their qualification matches.
This large-scale investigation was conducted by FIFA via its competent departments and in cooperation with the relevant stakeholders and authorities.
In its decision, the adjudicatory chamber found that Siasia had breached art. 11 (Bribery) of the 2009 edition of the FIFA Code of Ethics and banned him for life from all football-related activities (administrative, sports or any other) at both national and international level.
In addition, a fine in the amount of CHF 50,000 has been imposed on Siasia. This is not the first time that Siasia would be at the centre of a FIFA ban.
Along with Dahiru Sadi and Andrew Uwe, irregularity in Siasia’s birthdate and age, Nigeria was handed a two-year ban from all age-grade competitions from December 1990 to 1992.
Consequently, Nigeria lost the hosting rights for the 1991 World Youth Championship (U20 World Cup), which had earlier in the year in Scotland, awarded to Nigeria. The event was moved to Portugal.
Well-travelled Portuguese coach Paulo Duarte has been named as Guinea’s new coach, less than a month before their next round of World Cup qualifiers.
Duarte, 56, has twice previously coached Burkina Faso and taken charge of Gabon and Togo, while also coaching at clubs in Portugal, France, Tunisia, Angola and Saudi Arabia.
Guinea’s football federation gave no contract details when they made the announcement on Monday, but said they would be looking for Duarte to “restructure their national team”.
Guinea trail leaders Algeria by eight points in their World Cup qualifying group with four games remaining, leaving them with only a slim chance of qualification.
They play Somalia away on September 5 and then Algeria at home on September 8 in their next two qualifiers although a stadium ban means Guinea have moved their home game to Casablanca, Morocco.
-Reuters
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Veteran coach Louis van Gaal says he has been cured of cancer and is keen for a return to the higher levels of the game.
The 73-year-old announced three years ago that he was suffering from prostate cancer, but told a Dutch television talk show, “I’m no longer bothered by cancer.”
When he announced his illness, Van Gaal was the coach of the Dutch national team, but he has not worked since the last World Cup in Qatar in 2022.
“Two years ago, I had a few operations. It was all bad then. But it all worked out in the end. I have check-ups every few months, and that’s going well. I’m getting fitter and fitter,” he said.
Van Gaal, whose career has included stints at Ajax Amsterdam, Barcelona, Bayern Munich and Manchester United, reiterated a lack of interest in returning to club management but said becoming the national coach of a top-tier country could tempt him back.
He now serves as a special advisor to Ajax.
-Reuters
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In a compelling twist of football destiny, Davide Ancelotti is stepping into his own spotlight as he begins his first head coaching role at Brazilian club Botafogo—just months after parting ways with his legendary father, Carlo Ancelotti, at Real Madrid.
The 35-year-old has been appointed as Botafogo’s new manager, the club announced on Tuesday, following the sacking of Renato Paiva. Davide, who has spent the last decade working alongside his father at some of Europe’s top clubs—including Bayern Munich, Napoli, Everton, and Real Madrid—has signed a one-year deal with the Rio-based team.
This marks a significant milestone for the younger Ancelotti, whose career has long been shaped by his father’s influence, but who now faces the challenge of carving his own identity on the touchline.
The move comes shortly after both father and son departed Real Madrid at the end of last season, with Carlo taking over the Brazilian national team. Now, in a poetic alignment, father and son find themselves on different paths within Brazilian football—one leading the Seleção, the other steering the fortunes of a storied domestic club.
Botafogo’s decision to appoint Davide follows a controversial parting with Paiva, who was dismissed just days after their exit from the Club World Cup. Though he oversaw a stunning win over Champions League holders Paris Saint-Germain, a 1-0 extra-time loss to Palmeiras in the round of 16 proved to be his final act after just four months in charge.
As Davide Ancelotti begins this new chapter, all eyes will be on whether the son of one of football’s most decorated managers can step out from his father’s shadow—and perhaps, in time, build a legacy of his own.
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