SINGAPORE // Mohamed bin Hammam, the Asian football president, should follow Fifa vice-president Jack Warner and quit the sport after both were suspended over bribery claims, a former top official said.
Peter Velappan, the Asian Football Confederation's (AFC) general secretary for 30 years until 2007, said not only bin Hammam, but Fifa's entire executive committee should resign as the sport seeks to clean up its image.
"I would suggest in the interests of Fifa and global football the entire Fifa exco (executive committee) must resign and open up a new chapter for football for the future," Velappan told AFP in Singapore.
"In the same way, for the future of Asian football, Hammam should resign."
Bin Hammam was not available for comment yesterday after Warner's surprise resignation from all international football posts, three weeks after he was suspended over vote-rigging claims.
Velappan supported bin Hammam when he came to power in 2002 but the two later fell out. He predicted the Qatari "will follow" Warner by stepping down, and said Asia's football leadership needed wholesale changes.
"We are at not only a crossroads but a crisis because now corruption has become part of the culture of football," said the Malaysian. "Everybody now comes into football for the greed of money."
China's Zhang Jilong is the acting AFC president after bin Hammam was barred while Fifa investigates the corruption claims. But Velappan said "two or three" candidates for the presidency may emerge if Hammam cannot clear his name.
Warner was one of Fifa's most controversial figures after a string of accusations against him, culminating in the allegations surrounding this month's Fifa presidential poll.
After Warner's resignation, the world body withdrew its investigation into the bribery claims against its vice-president and said "the presumption of innocence is maintained".
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Tributes from the UAE's personal finance community
• Sebastien Aguilar, who heads SimplyFI.org, a non-profit community where people learn to invest Bogleheads’ style
“It is thanks to Jack Bogle’s work that this community exists and thanks to his work that many investors now get the full benefits of long term, buy and hold stock market investing.
Compared to the industry, investing using the common sense approach of a Boglehead saves a lot in costs and guarantees higher returns than the average actively managed fund over the long term.
From a personal perspective, learning how to invest using Bogle’s approach was a turning point in my life. I quickly realised there was no point chasing returns and paying expensive advisers or platforms. Once money is taken care off, you can work on what truly matters, such as family, relationships or other projects. I owe Jack Bogle for that.”
• Sam Instone, director of financial advisory firm AES International
"Thought to have saved investors over a trillion dollars, Jack Bogle’s ideas truly changed the way the world invests. Shaped by his own personal experiences, his philosophy and basic rules for investors challenged the status quo of a self-interested global industry and eventually prevailed. Loathed by many big companies and commission-driven salespeople, he has transformed the way well-informed investors and professional advisers make decisions."
• Demos Kyprianou, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"Jack Bogle for me was a rebel, a revolutionary who changed the industry and gave the little guy like me, a chance. He was also a mentor who inspired me to take the leap and take control of my own finances."
• Steve Cronin, founder of DeadSimpleSaving.com
"Obsessed with reducing fees, Jack Bogle structured Vanguard to be owned by its clients – that way the priority would be fee minimisation for clients rather than profit maximisation for the company.
His real gift to us has been the ability to invest in the stock market (buy and hold for the long term) rather than be forced to speculate (try to make profits in the shorter term) or even worse have others speculate on our behalf.
Bogle has given countless investors the ability to get on with their life while growing their wealth in the background as fast as possible. The Financial Independence movement would barely exist without this."
• Zach Holz, who blogs about financial independence at The Happiest Teacher
"Jack Bogle was one of the greatest forces for wealth democratisation the world has ever seen. He allowed people a way to be free from the parasitical "financial advisers" whose only real concern are the fat fees they get from selling you over-complicated "products" that have caused millions of people all around the world real harm.”
• Tuan Phan, a board member of SimplyFI.org
"In an industry that’s synonymous with greed, Jack Bogle was a lone wolf, swimming against the tide. When others were incentivised to enrich themselves, he stood by the ‘fiduciary’ standard – something that is badly needed in the financial industry of the UAE."
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Install an air filter in your home.
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