FIFA presidential candidate Chung Mong-joon says he is facing a 15-year suspension from the organisation's ethics committee because he dared to challenge Sepp Blatter's authority.
Chung, a former FIFA vice-president from South Korea, has also revealed 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 Korea's plan to raise 777million US dollars 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's.
Chung is running against UEFA president Michel Platini, who is being investigated by Swiss authorities over a £1.35million payment made by Blatter to him in 2011 for work carried out more than nine years before. Prince 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, Mr [Jerome] Valcke and Mr 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 Mr 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's former bid leader and FIFA vice-president Geoff Thompson, Prince William and Prime Minister David Cameron.
The statement adds: "The Investigatory Chamber (IC) initially thought that they had a strong case against me. One of the questions that the IC sent me on February 13, 2015 was the following: 'Would it surprise you to learn that the Chairman of England 2018, Mr Geoff Thompson has admitted to agreeing to trade your vote for Korea 2022, in exchange for England's vote for Korea 2022?'
"This allegedly happened when I last met Mr Geoff Thompson when together we paid a courtesy visit on Prince William at the Prince's request in his suite at Baur au Lac Hotel in Zurich on December 1, 2010, one day before the vote. When I went to the Prince's suite, Prime Minister Cameron was also there."
Chung said he was sent a transcript of Thompson's "rather incoherent interview" with ethics investigator Michael Garcia.
He added: "In the transcript, Mr Thompson does not even remember whether Prince William was present when he and I and PM Cameron were allegedly making this deal.
"My question is, 'Is it even conceivable that Mr Thompson and I would be making an illicit 'vote trading' deal in such company? Is FIFA accusing Prince William 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."
Chung said the vote-trading charge was then dropped and that it only came about as a result of Thompson needing "someone to blame" after the "major embarrassment" of only securing one vote.
He also questioned why FIFA's ethics committee had not taken action against Blatter over the ISL bribery case - where he did not investigate bribes being paid to senior officials - or secretary general Valcke, who was said in a US court to have lied repeatedly to card giants Mastercard in order to secure a sponsorship deal with VISA.
Chung added: "If the ethics committee was truly independent, it should have banned Mr Blatter for life for the ISL case 20 years ago. Both Mr Blatter and Mr Valcke should have been banned for life for their manipulation of the VISA-MasterCard case."
Source: PA
