KUALA LUMPUR (AFP) China's Zhang Jilong has temporarily taken charge of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) after president Mohamed bin Hammam was suspended over graft claims, a former top official said Monday. Zhang's appointment was automatic under AFC rules following bin Hammam's suspension, Peter Velappan, who was the Asian body's general secretary for 30 years, told AFP. "The deputy president of the AFC, Zhang Jilong of China, takes over with immediate effect," Velappan said from Zurich, where he is a guest of FIFA ahead of this week's congress. "In the absence of a president, the deputy president will become the acting president. Bin Hammam cannot oppose this development." Velappan left the AFC in 2007 after a public falling-out with bin Hammam, and the two are known rivals. Bin Hammam was running for the FIFA presidency until dramatically pulling out on Sunday, hours before his suspension.