S. Korea, Japan agree to support Bahraini for FIFA seat

SEOUL, April 23 (Yonhap) -- Heads of South Korean and Japanese football governing
bodies agreed to support Bahrain's football chief in next month's FIFA election,
a South Korean official said Thursday.
Sheikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa is challenging Asian Football Association
(AFC) President Mohamed bin Hammam for a seat on the international football
federation (FIFA)'s executive committee.
Cho Chung-yun, chairman of the Korea Football Association (KFA), and his Japanese
counterpart Motoaki Inukai met on Tuesday in Japan and discussed the issue, the
KFA official said.
Hammam, criticized by some AFC member nations for his autocratic governing style,
was quoted as saying in February that he was ready to "cut the head off" of Cho
after accusing him and other AFC members of blocking his bid for the seat.
The KFA filed a complaint against Hammam with FIFA's disciplinary and ethics
committees last week.
Hammam has said he will resign from the AFC post if he loses to Salman in the
election slated for May.
Meanwhile, the Olympic Council of Asia (OCA) denied accusations by Hammam that it
has exerted undue influence over the election. Hammam raised allegations in an
interview last month that the OCA is backing his rival.
brk@yna.co.kr
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