SKorea slams AFC chief over ´beheading´ comment

South Korea’s football body has demanded an apology from Asian Football Confederation (AFC) president Mohammed Bin Hammam for what it called insulting comments.

The Korea Football Association (KFA) said that “if necessary” it would take joint action with other AFC members and file a complaint with world football’s governing body FIFA.

In a recent television interview, the KFA said, Bin Hammam made insulting remarks against KFA chief Cho Jung-Yeon by saying he was ready to “cut Cho’s head off.”

It said the AFC chief had also accused Cho and some other Asian football leaders of supporting the candidacy of Bahrain’s Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Al Khalifa for a seat on FIFA’s executive committee.

Shaikh Salman is expected to challenge Bin Hammam for the seat in May when the Qatari’s term expires.

“We strongly criticise Bin Hammam’s groundless remarks insulting us and other AFC members,” KFA spokesman You Young-Cheul told AFP.

“The KFA wants an explanation and apology from Bin Hammam over his remarks, which are improper as AFC head.”

Bin Hammam has since described his quote regarding Cho as a “harmless and widely used Arabic metaphor” meaning an attempt to thwart someone’s progress.

Bin Hammam’s tenure as AFC president ends in 2011. But former AFC secretary-general Peter Velappan has said he should quit as AFC president if he loses the FIFA seat.

In recent months Bin Hammam has come under fire after pushing a controversial plan to shift the AFC headquarters from Malaysia.

FIFA vice president Chung Mong-Joon of South Korea has reportedly criticised Bin Hammam’s plan, saying it was “unwise and does not reflect the other members’ stand.”

“I wonder where he got the idea. Most of the time, Bin Hammam seems to be acting on his own. Many member associations are not in favour of this move and yet he insists,” he was quoted as saying by Malaysia’s New Straits Times.

Chung was unavailable for comment but the KFA spokesman said Chung has expressed his opinion “to correct wrong things.”