by Our Sports Desk

FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong Joon is facing a 15-year suspension from the world football governing body for challenging Sepp Blatter, he claimed yesterday.

Chung, a former Fifa vice-president from South Korea, has also claimed that England’s 2018 World Cup bid leader Geoff Thompson told ethics investigators he had agreed a vote-trading deal with the Koreans.

The charges against Chung stem from letters he sent to Fifa members about South Korea’s plan to raise $777 million to establish a “global football fund” for football development if they were awarded the World Cup.

Chung says this was no different from other development funds suggested by rival bidders including England.

Chung is running against Uefa president Michel Platini, who is being investigated by Swiss authorities over a £1.35m payment made by Blatter to him in 2011 for work carried out more than nine years before. Ali bin al-Hussein of Jordan is also standing.

Chung said: “People say that Fifa’s ethics committee is Mr Blatter’s ‘hitman.’ They never hit him but only those who challenge Mr Blatter.

“Yet what are these ‘corruption’ charges that I face? Unlike Mr Blatter, [Jerome] Valcke and Platini, I am not facing any allegations of bribery, fraud, corruption or conflict of interest.

“The fundamental reason why I am being targeted is that I aimed straight at the existing power structure of Fifa.

“Finally, the fact that I am the target of Blatter’s smear campaign is clearly the most powerful endorsement for my candidacy for the Fifa presidency and the best proof that I am the person to lead Fifa’s reforms.”

Chung has issued a 26-page statement defending himself from any allegations and reveals details about a meeting with England 2018 bid leader and Fifa vice-president Thompson, British Prince William Windsor and Prime Minister David Cameron.

In the meeting, Chung is alleged to have agreed to trade a “vote for Korea 2022 in exchange for England’s vote for Korea 2022” with Thompson, while Cameron and Windsor were present.

Chung said that Thompson isn’t sure whether Windsor and Cameron were present during this alleged meeting before asking: “Is it even conceivable that Thompson and I would be making an illicit ‘vote-trading’ deal in such company? Is Fifa accusing Windsor and the Prime Minister of Great Britain of being complicit in vote-trading the day before the vote?
“If so, they should be investigating the prince and pm Cameron as well.”