Zhang Jilong, the acting president of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC), yesterday called for "revolution" and vowed to battle corruption after stepping in for suspended leader Mohamed bin Hammam, who is fighting bribery claims.
Zhang said that Asian football needed reforms after a welter of graft scandals engulfed world body Fifa, including vote-buying allegations against bin Hammam, the embattled AFC president.
"The Asian football environment is not that healthy," Zhang told the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV.
"We need, let's say, revolution. We need reform," he said, to make Asian football more transparent and with greater "fair play".
The AFC senior vice president also promised to bring corrupt officials to book and said allegations like those against bin Hammam - who is accused of trying to bribe his way to the Fifa presidency - damaged the sport.
"Scandals such as bin Hammam's bribery allegations harm the sport's beauty. Anyone who does not show transparency should pay for it," he told Chinese website sina.com, according to the China Daily newspaper.
The strident comments come just days after Zhang's automatic appointment as Asia's caretaker chief following bin Hammam's suspension from football activities by Fifa, pending an investigation.
Bin Hammam, whose withdrawal from the presidential race allowed the Fifa president Sepp Blatter, as the lone candidate, to be re-elected to another four years in office. Blatter received support from 186 member associations, from the 203 who participated in the vote.
Bin Hammam is accused of offering cash gifts in return for votes in yesterday's election in Zurich.
The AFC's executive committee voiced the "deepest concern" over developments involving bin Hammam and said it hopes "the outcome of the investigation will be in the best interests of football in Asia and beyond".
Zhang also promised not to promote Chinese football - which has also been hit by a major corruption scandal - at the expense of the region, and said he hoped to steady the AFC after a turbulent period.
"We should aim to improve the AFC's operations and make it run more transparently ... I hope to solidify the whole Asian soccer community and make the federation operate steadily after the crisis."
In Zurich, bin Hammam lodged a formal protest against his ban yesterday, claiming he had been given no time to appeal before the congress. "I was punished before I was found guilty," he said.
The Qatari, 62, was instrumental in winning his home country's hosting rights for the 2022 World Cup, a victory seen as the launch-pad for his presidential bid.
Bin Hammam has denied claims that Qatar paid bribes to secure the surprise victory, putting him under further pressure even though he was not a part of the bid committee. He has been a member of Fifa's executive committee since 1996 and president of the AFC since 2002.
