SEOUL (South Korea) - FIFA vice-president Chung Mong-joon plans to refer Asian Football Confederation president Mohamed bin Hammam to the sport's international ethics committee over perceived threatening remarks regarding Korean Football Association chief Cho Chung-yeon.

Bin Hammam made the comments during a Qatar television interview last month in which he claimed Korean influences were behind the challenge to his FIFA executive committee position by Bahrain football chief Shaikh Salman bin Ebrahim Khalifa.

In the interview, Bin Hammam used a phrase that could be translated as threatening to cut off Cho's head, although he did not mention names.

'His remarks are not desirable,' Chung was quoted saying on Thursday by Yonhap, South Korea's news agency. Chung said he would take the matter to the ethics committee of football's world governing body.

In an earlier explanation, Bin Hammam told The Associated Press his comments had been misinterpreted, saying he used 'a popular, harmless and widely used Arabic metaphor.'

He compared it with the English expression 'heads will roll.' 'That doesn't literally mean someone's head is going to roll off, does it?' he said in a statement. 'The first thing to be lost in translation is humor.'

The KFA has already demanded an official apology, saying it 'strongly criticize Mohamed's groundless remarks insulting us and other AFC members.'

Chung and Bin Hammam are at odds over a recent proposal, by the Qatari official, that the holder of the AFC presidency also be appointed as a FIFA vice president, while other regional appointees would rank below that.

Bin Hammam has been president of the AFC since 2002, with his term to extend to 2011. His position on the FIFA executive committee will be decided by a vote at AFC meetings on May 8. -- AP