October 27 – South Korea’s Chung Mong-Joon has officially pulled out of the race for FIFA presidency as he conceded defeat in the wake of his six-year ban from football as a result of his conduct during the bidding process for the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.
The former FIFA vice-president, who issued a series of press releases denouncing how FIFA has been run under Sepp Blatter and pouring scorn on all and sundry, had announced his intention to appeal the ban to allow him to stand but just hours before the deadline he threw in the towel.
“Because of the ethics committee’s unjust sanctions, I will have to miss the October 26 deadline to file my candidacy,” Chung said in a statement.
“It is now time to officially withdraw my candidacy for the next FIFA president.”
“Even though I can no longer stand for FIFA President, there is much left for me to do. I will continue to work with all those who love football to bring about legitimate changes from within FIFA.”
How he will do this given his ban from all aspects of the game he didn’t spell out. But it is unlikely we have heard the last from the former FIFA executive committee stalwart and billionaire Hyundai scion given his anger at the way he has been excluded from the election.
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