Sepp Blatter facing $100m lawsuit from Fifa presidential hopeful Chung Mong-Joon
Fifa presidential hopeful Chung Mong-Joon has vowed to sue incumbent Sepp Blatter for more than $100m, accusing him of embezzling funds from football's world governing body.
The South Korean argues that Blatter has cost Fifa huge sums by refusing to divulge his salary even to members of the scandal-hit organisation's executive committee (ExCo).
Chung also says Blatter himself should have paid the $90m it cost Fifa to settle a legal row with Mastercard in 2007.
Read more: Platini labelled a Blatter protege by Fifa presidency rival Chung
"Back in 2002 I asked president Blatter his salary expenses but he refused," he told the Leaders in Sport Business Summit. "Naturally for him to get paid without ExCo approval is embezzlement. That is why I plan to sue Mr Blatter on his embezzlement in court."
Chung, who said he planned to sue in Switzerland, added of the Mastercard affair: "Why should Fifa pay the fine for Blatter's corruption? Blatter and Mr Valcke [Fifa's suspended general secretary] should pay the fine from their own pocket."
The 63-year-old pledged to pay any money made from suing Blatter back to Fifa.
"The amount of money I can claim against Blatter is in proportion to the damage he inflicted on Fifa," he said at the event at Stamford Bridge in London.
"For example, Fifa was humiliated by a judge in New York. The judge mentioned the word 'lies' 13 times and she even said Fifa should not be allowed to use the slogan 'fair play'. $100m fine. That happened in 2006. So it must be bigger than that."
Chung, whose father founded car giant Hyundai, is himself under investigation by Fifa's ethics committee, a process that may prevent him from running in next February's election. He described it as a "smear" from Blatter, who he called "a hypocrite and a liar".
Blatter, 79, has announced that he will not stand. Michel Platini, the president of European governing body Uefa, is the frontrunner to succeed him but has been dragged into a row over a £1.3m payment made to him by Blatter.
"From the beginning it was clear that the investigatory chamber was taking this investigation to prevent me from running," he said. "Unlike Blatter, Valcke and Platini I'm not facing any allegations of bribery, fraud, corruption or conflict of interest."
Blatter is under investigation from Swiss authorities for alleged corruption. The Swiss announced he would step down as president in June, just days after winning a fifth term, following a spate of arrests of Fifa officials in connection with a US federal investigation.