FIFA presidential hopeful Chung Mong-joon is suspected of trying to influence the vote for the 2022 World Cup for South Korea and threatened with a lengthy ban, German daily Welt am Sonntag said on Friday.
The newspaper, without citing a source, alleged that former FIFA vice president Chung in 2010 tried to influence the vote in his home country’s favor in violation of the body’s code of ethics.
In a letter dated October 2010, Chung made an offer to FIFA’s executive committee to create a fund to support various soccer-related projects to the value of US$777 million.
“Chung matched his commitment with a condition — that the World Cup was awarded to South Korea,” Welt am Sonntag reported.
Such moves could be deemed to be in breach of the FIFA code and the newspaper said that Germany’s Hans-Joachim Eckert, who heads the body’s ethics committee, could rule on the allegations.
The 2022 World Cup was finally awarded in December 2010 to Qatar.
Chung, 63, who served on the executive committee until 2011, sent two letters to outgoing FIFA president Sepp Blatter to stop the investigations concerning him, but without success, Welt am Sonntag added.
Contacted by reporters, FIFA was not available for comment.
Chung, a member of the family that owns the various arms of the Hyundai conglomerate, launched his campaign to succeed Blatter as FIFA president on Monday.
World soccer’s governing body has been embroiled in a corruption turmoil since seven FIFA officials were arrested in a Zurich hotel ahead of their congress in May.
The seven are among 14 people facing US charges over more than US$150 million in bribes allegedly paid for television and marketing deals.
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