Seoul (AFP) – South Korean tycoon Chung Mong-Joon on Wednesday said he would use every available avenue to fight a FIFA ban imposed over his lobbying for Seoul’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup.
The former FIFA presidential candidate said he would appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport if necessary to overturn the ban after FIFA’s Appeal Committee partially confirmed an earlier suspension and reduced his ban from six years to five.
“Correcting the wrongful decision by FIFA’s Ethics and Appeals Committees is not only a way to restore my honour, but also my own contribution to the reform of FIFA,” Chung said in a statement.
“As such, I shall exhaust all legal options available to me including an appeal to (the) Court of Arbitration for Sports”, he said.
“What I find most disappointing is the fact that FIFA has not really changed. Had it fully acknowledged that FIFA’s way of doing things were wrong, such a decision would never have been rendered.”
Chung, a former FIFA vice president, was found to have contravened rules while lobbying for South Korea’s bid to host the 2022 World Cup, which was awarded to Qatar in 2010.
Chung, the billionaire scion of the Hyundai family, had been a candidate to replace former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter but ultimately withdrew from the race, which saw ex-UEFA secretary general Gianni Infantino elected.
Chung accused FIFA judges of “sabotage” after his suspension came into force in October last year.
The appeals committee said the evidence against Chung was “not sufficient” to support the six-year-ban and reduced his fine from 100,000 to 50,000 Swiss francs.
