FIFA Presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon launched an attack on Sepp Blatter and corruption within FIFA ©Getty Images

FIFA Presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon has announced his intention to sue the outgoing President Sepp Blatter for $100 million (£60 million/€89 million) for embezzlement and pledged to put the money back into the governing body should he prove successful.

The South Korean, who was speaking at the Leaders Sport Business Summit 2015 here, claimed Blatter accepted payments without the approval of the governing body's Executive Committee as he launched a passionate attack on "corruption" within the organisation.

He also urged legal authorities to investigate an "inappropriate relationship between FIFA and VISA", related to the organisation's decision to renege on a sponsorship deal with Mastercard for the 2010 and 2014 World Cup tournaments.

As as result the company successfully sued FIFA in 2006 after a US Federal Court ruled they had breached their contract to make VISA a sponsor.

Chung, who said yesterday that he was facing a 15-year suspension by the football governing body’s Ethics Committee on charges stemming from his "support" for South Korea’s 2022 World Cup bid, gave a damning assessment of the Committee stating "if it was truly independent then Blatter and [Jerome] Valcke would have been banned for life for their involvement in the VISA and Mastercard case."

He also labelled Blatter, whose Presidency is due to end next February, as a "hypocritical liar" and accused the Swiss of "corrupting FIFA" and constantly meddling in Confederation elections.

"Money and power have blinded Mr Blatter to sportsmanship," said Chung, a former FIFA vice-president.

"Mr Blatter and his associates are only in it for themselves.

Chung announced his intention to sue outgoing FIFA President Sepp Blatter for embezzlement
Chung announced his intention to sue outgoing FIFA President Sepp Blatter for embezzlement ©Getty Images

"Few still dare to speak out."

Additionally, the 63-year-old also launched a stinging attack on FIFA secretary general Valcke, as well as UEFA President Michel Platini, with the latter currently under investigation for a "disloyal” payment - meaning one allegedly not in the interests of the governing body - of CHF 2 million (£1.3 million/$2.1 million/€1.8 million) made to the Frenchman by Blatter in 2011.

Platini, who is also seeking the FIFA Presidency, previously revealed that he had voted for Qatar's successful bid to stage the 2022 World Cup and Chung claims it was a "travesty of justice" that an Ethics Committee investigation was not opened against the Frenchman after his son, Laurent, was hired as the Chief Executive of Burrda, a Qatar owned sports company after the vote.

Platini has repeatedly rejected claims his vote for Qatar had played a role in his son's employment.

As he had done yesterday at a news conference in South Korea's capital city Seoul, Chung produced two letters from Valcke, who last month was suspended as FIFA’s secretary general following accusations he was involved in a scheme to sell World Cup tickets for above their face value.

The letters, dated from November, state that FIFA had agreed that the integrity of the 2022 bidding process, ultimately won by Qatar, had not been affected and that the matter was deemed closed.

UEFA President and rival for FIFA Presidency Michel Platini was also the subject of Chung's attacks
UEFA President and rival for FIFA Presidency Michel Platini was also the subject of Chung's attacks ©Getty Images

Chung, who is being investigated for violation of six articles from FIFA’s Code of Ethics, again dismissed the charges which centre around his proposal to launch a Global Football Fund (GFF) which would have seen South Korea aim to raise $777 million (£513 million/€694 million) from 2011 to build new football infrastructure and renovate existing facilities had they won the right to stage the tournament in 2022.

He argued the GFF was in line with the football development projects that FIFA asked every bidding country to propose as part of their bid requirement, while he also refused to disclose who he had voted for in the 2018 World Cup race, having previously been accused of trading votes with England, who were bidding for that edition of competition. 

Additionally he repeated his claim that "FIFA's investigatory chamber are trying to prevent me from running for the Presidency" while he believes Blatter is running a "smear campaign" against him which he described as "the highest possible endorsement" for his candidacy for the role of President.

Turning to his campaign, Chung pledged to introduce term limits, stating he would only serve one term, while he also stated he would transform the FIFA Congress into an open forum, increase the financial transparency of the organisation and strengthen "checks and balances" between the Presidency, Executive Committee and judicial bodies.

The Leaders Sport Business Summit was held at Stamford Bridge with more than 1500 of the industry's most influential people sharing insights and sparking discussions to help shape the future of sport.



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