South Korean to enter race for Fifa presidency

Chung Mong-joon, one of the most influential figures in Asian football, has ridiculed Sepp Blatter after announcing that he will enter the race to replace the Swiss as president of Fifa.

A former Fifa vice-president, the South Korean Chung described Blatter as “like a cannibal eating his parents and then crying like he’s an orphan” for trying to avoid responsibility for the crisis that has engulfed Fifa over the last few months.

“He tries to blame everybody except himself,” Chung added.

Chung will make his formal announcement next month in Europe, “the centre of world football”.

He said he wanted to be part of the solution to clean up the corruption-tainted governing body.

He acknowledged he had a tough fight ahead of him.

“It’s not easy but people don’t want to be part of corruption. They want to be part of the solution. We cannot leave Fifa in this kind of disgrace.”

Chung said he did not yet have the required backing of five Fifa federations that would allow him to stand but he was confident of getting that support.

“I hope to have more than five nominations,” he said, adding he had received assurances of support from within Concacaf on a recent trip to the United States.

“If I get elected, my job is not to enjoy the luxury of the office. My job is to change it … it is time that Fifa had a non-European leadership. Fifa became a closed organisation for president Blatter, his associates and his cronies and I want to change that.”

On Wednesday, Michel Platini announced he will also run but Chung believes that Platini is not the man to bring about the change needed.

“Mr Platini enjoys institutional support from the current structure of Fifa. Mr Platini is very much a product of the current system.”