By Andrew Warshaw
October 9 – Banned former FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon is determined not to go quietly and to keep alive his hopes of becoming the organisation’s new president.
Chung is to appeal against his six-year ban from football for his conduct surrounding his native South Korea’s 2022 World Cup bid – but it could have been far worse.
Insideworldfootball understands that ethics investigators wanted to ban Chung for up to 19 years but the ethics committee’s adjudicatory chamber cut the recommendation down to six.
Chung has nevertheless promised “to mobilise all legal means” at his disposal, describing his ban as “an act that, once again, demonstrates the profoundly irresponsible and unethical nature of FIFA.”
He also repeated his somewhat tired description of the ethics committee as Sepp Blatter’s “hitman”, hardly justified given Blatter’s own suspension.
In fact he said Blatter and the others suspended for 90 days deserved a far more severe punishment. They, Chung said, “are being investigated on the suspicion of bribery, malfeasance, and embezzlement” whereas he had violated “vague articles of FIFA Code of Ethics.”
“This is a most blatant miscarriage of justice.”
Furious at being sanctioned only for his “ethical attitude,” he continued: “There is no clearer proof than this that the whole investigation has been politically motivated from the beginning.”
Chung couldn’t resist going on the rampage one final time about the state of Fifa’s meltdown.
“FIFA is like the sinking Titanic. If there are those within FIFA who continue to only look out for their own selfish interests while hastening FIFA’s downfall, history will judge them harshly, along with President Blatter who has morally bankrupted FIFA.
“I will mobilize all legal means available to expose the injustice of this decision by the Ethics Committee while continuing to do my utmost to reform FIFA.”
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