S. Korean football body lodges petition against AFC chief

SEOUL, April 15 (Yonhap) -- South Korea's football governing body said Wednesday
that it filed a petition with FIFA against the head of the Asian Football
Confederation (AFC) for threatening to kill a top Korean football official.

In February, Mohammed Bin Hammam said during a television interview that he was
ready to "cut the head off" of Korea Football Association (KFA) president Cho
Chung-yun, insisting that several Asian football officials led by South Koreans
were plotting against his bid to reclaim his FIFA seat.
The KFA said that it brought the issue to the FIFA disciplinary committee as well
as to the ethics committee, sending an official to FIFA headquarters in Zurich,
Switzerland. Both boards are in charge of penalizing those who slander other
members.
KFA also argued that aside from the threatening remark, Bin Hammam's claim that
South Korea financially backed his rival, Bahraini football President Shaikh
Salman bin Ibrahim al Khalifa, to ensure that he loses in the election slated for
May is also groundless.
Chung Mong-joon, FIFA vice president, pointed out that Bin Hammam's comment was
inappropriate and harmed the unity of the Asian football organization. He also
expressed support for the Bahraini chief's bid for the FIFA seat and is believed
to be among those Bin Hammam's hostile comment was aimed at.
Facing Shaikh Salman's challenge, the AFC chairman vowed to resign from the post
if he fails to retain his seat on the FIFA executive committee.
Bin Hammam has served in the top AFC post since 1996 and has been criticized for
running up a substantial deficit and for his autocratic governance in the body.
Some 20 Asian member countries, including South Korea, Japan and China, have
announced their support for the Bahraini official over Bin Hammam.
brk@yna.co.kr
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