South Korean Chung Mong Joon Withdraws FIFA Presidential Bid After Reportedly Missing The Deadline For Filing Due To ‘Unjust’ Sanctions Against Him
South Korean Chung Mong Joon officially announced his withdrawal on FIFA presidential bid on Monday after missing the deadline to register as candidate on the same day. 64-year-old Chung said in a statement that he missed the filing due to the "unjust" sanctions filed against him.
"Because of the committee's unjust sanctions... it is now time to officially withdraw my candidacy for the next FIFA president," he says, as noted by NDTV Sports.
A few days ago, a Swiss court reportedly denied his plea to lift the six-year ban filed against him by FIFA's Ethics Committee. According to Chung, FIFA has not given him concrete reasons for the sanctions against him.
He also said that "the Swiss court rejected my petition on the grounds that without the reasoned decision, it has no grounds to make a decision," as reported by Korea Times.
"I am in a double bind: I cannot maintain my candidacy because of the unjust sanctions, but I cannot appeal those sanctions or get an injunction from the Swiss court because I do not have the reasoned decision that FIFA's Ethics Committee has so far refused to send me," he reveals.
On the other hand, Chung says he had been under "constant harassment" and unreasonable "persecution" after he announced his desire to replace Sepp Blatter as the FIFA president. The South Korean businessman also denies being involved in any misconduct.
"As FIFA leaked information to the media, portraying me as an unethical person, I felt I was left naked, helpless to defend myself, as they repeatedly cut me with a sharp knife," Chung says.
Despite all of this, the former FIFA vice president vows to continue to do something to change FIFA.
"Even though I cannot run in this election, I believe there is still much that I can do. As someone who loves football, I will continue to speak out frankly about FIFA's problems," he says.
