Japan Football Association President Junji Ogura has called on the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) to hold a presidential election despite a plea from Mohamed Bin Hammam urging continental members to be patient while he appeals his life ban for alleged bribery. The call came as Prince Ali Al-Hussein of Jordan said while Bin Hammam had the right to appeal, the process should not be allowed to drag on. China's Zhang Jilong has been the interim AFC president since Bin Hammam was suspended last month. FIFA imposed a life ban on Bin Hammam at the weekend, only months after he helped his native Qatar win the right to host the 2022 World Cup. But Bin Hammam says he has no intention of quitting as AFC president and will appeal his ban to both FIFA and the Court of Arbitration for Sport. The AFC executive committee will meet Friday to discuss the issue. Bin Hammam “has been banned for life so I think an election needs to be held,” Ogura said Tuesday. Bin Hammam denies giving cash to Caribbean officials in exchange for supporting his bid to become FIFA president and contends that the allegations were made because he was a threat to Sepp Blatter's re-election. “He doesn't think he has done anything wrong and said he has no intention of quitting as AFC President and FIFA executive,” Ogura said, referring to a letter he received from Bin Hammam. On AFC-headed paper, Bin Hammam wrote to Asian members Monday urging their support during his appeal and anticipated delays before he can present his case. Zhang responded to the FIFA decision on the weekend by issuing a statement saying it was a “sad day for the AFC and Asian football.” “AFC respects FIFA's decision and we also acknowledge former AFC President Mohamed Bin Hammam's inalienable right to lodge an appeal against the decision.” Requests for interviews with Zhang and AFC executive members have been repeatedly declined by the AFC, which says the outcome of Friday's meeting will be announced in a statement and no members will be available for comment. Ogura was the first head of a national federation to comment on the status of the AFC presidency and although Jordan's Al-Hussein, who joined FIFA's executive last month, would not go as far, he said that Bin Hammam should not drag the case out. Al-Hussein added that he didn't think the Bin Hammam affair would damage the reputation of Middle East football, which was on an upswing after Qatar was last year awarded the right to host the 2022 World Cup.
