South Korean FIFA presidential candidate accuses AFC of 'undermining' FIFA election

Sep 7, 2015 FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon has recently accused the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) of sending unsolicited letters to its member organizations, urging them to support his rival Michel Platini at next year’s election.

Speaking at a news conference, Chung said:

“Sheikh Salman, President of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), has publicly supported Michel Platini, President of the UEFA. We have learned that the AFC had sent unsolicited letters to almost every AFC member association. Most of the AFC member countries including China, Japan, Mongolia, India, and Singapore received this letter. South Korea and Jordan, however, did not”

Chung said the letters were against FIFA’s election guidelines and has a potential to undermine the fairness of the election, which will be held in February 2016.

“Given that the Confederations exercise tremendous influence over its member associations in organizing football tournaments and through administrative oversight, it is clear that the fairness of the FIFA presidential election has been seriously compromised. According to FIFA statutes, only the member associations possess the right to propose candidates for the office of FIFA President, and each member should make its decision independently and with no influence from third parties,” Chung added

The 63-year-old billionaire also called on the FIFA Ad-hoc Electoral Committee and the Ethics Committee to launch an investigation into the matter.