Former FFA chairman Frank Lowy. Credit:Edwina Pickles The leaked report also raises major questions about investigations by the FFA and the Australian government, which have found the bid engaged in no wrongdoing. While Mr Buckley, who led Australia's bid as FFA chief executive, and former FFA chairman Mr Lowy, are not implicated in any corruption, the Garcia report details new evidence that shows the pair variously supported practices that appear to have breached World Cup bidding rules and, in the case of Mr Buckley, suggest the FFA was prepared to make improper offers to secure the votes of FIFA chiefs. The report is highly critical of the FFA's hiring of German businessman Fedor Radmann as a consultant, not least because it was known he had a close relationship with FIFA chief Franz Beckenbauer, whose vote Australia was chasing. Mr Garcia said the evidence he uncovered "suggest efforts by Australia 2022, its consultants, and Mr Beckenbauer to conceal certain key relationships".

Ben Buckley, who led Australia's World Cup bid. Credit:Cameron Spencer "In structuring its contract with Mr Radmann, Australia 2022 sought to create an appearance of distance between the bid team and Mr Beckenbauer's close associate," Mr Garcia found. "Subsequent devices employed by the bid team and its consultants were seemingly aimed at hiding ties with Mr Radmann while taking advantage of his influence over Mr. Beckenbauer to further the bid strategy." FFA consultant Fedor Radmann. The Garcia report is also scathing of FFA consultant Peter Hargitay, who along with Mr Radmann was paid large fees by FFA and who had close links to FIFA officials, whose support was sought by Australia, including former FIFA chief Sepp Blatter.

Mr Garcia reveals that in 2009 Mr Hargitay sent a private email to FIFA president Mr Blatter disparaging Qatar's bid. FIFA rules prohibit bidding countries or their consultants disparaging the bids of rivals to FIFA executive committee members. FFA consultant Peter Hargitay, on left, with former FIFA president Sepp Blatter. "Hargitay forwarded or blind-copied that communication to Australia 2022 Chairman Frank Lowy, who replied to Mr. Hargitay: 'Peter, great piece should help JB' - seemingly a reference to President Blatter's initials - 'FIFA and ourselves. Well done. Frank.' "The language quoted above, and Mr. Hargitay's steps to share the '[t]ruly personal and private' message to President Blatter with Mr. Lowy, demonstrate that Mr. Hargitay tried to advance the Australia bid by undermining Qatar's candidacy." Les Murray. Credit:SBS

"Mr Hargitay's email to a voting member of the FIFA executive committee contravened bid registration rule 11.4." Mr Garcia also revealed that Australian soccer identity Les Murray, who was on FIFA's ethics committee, leaked confidential information to Mr Hargitay, who then leaked it to Mr Lowy. "On January 7, 2009, FIFA ethics committee member Les Murray forwarded Mr Hargitay an email he had sent to the chair of the ethics committee, Sebastian Coe, asking to discuss potentially investigating certain conduct by England's bid team. Mr Hargitay then forwarded the email to Australia 2022 Chairman Frank Lowy along with the message: 'Boom. Here we go:):)' " Mr Garcia's report states: "The email communications show that Mr Hargitay, who had a lucrative contract with the Australian bid team, executed his strategy of using his purported relationship with President Blatter and other high-ranking FIFA officials to create the appearance that he was influencing the bidding process." "His communications with FIFA officials reflect inappropriate denigration of other bids and show that he obtained confidential internal FIFA ethics committee correspondence. That misconduct was exacerbated when he forwarded those communications to the bid team members in order to demonstrate his "insider" status. His actions gave the appearance, at least to his employer, that he was improperly influencing the process."

The Garcia report is also damning of the way the FFA sought to contribute funds to football projects in developing countries in which certain FIFA chiefs resided or which were linked to the personal interests of FIFA chiefs. Mr Garcia details evidence suggesting the FFA was warned by one of its own senior managers, John Boultbee, about concerns surrounding a request by FIFA executive Jack Warner for funds to support a football "Centre of Excellence" (COE) in Trinidad. The FFA contributed $500,000 to the project, although it was later revealed these funds were placed into a bank account controlled by Mr Warner, who most likely stole them. While there is no evidence the FFA sought to directly bribe Mr Warner by personally enriching him, Mr Garcia found its donation to the stadium development "is wrong because it creates at least the impression that the benefit was provided for an improper purpose". "In this case, evidence in the record indicates that a desire to influence Mr Warner's vote in the Australian bid's favour motivated this contribution to the" stadium."

"Mr Boultbee's experience in Trinidad when [a COE linked official] expressly stated that they needed the "football development" money "before the bid" evinced a view by at least Mr. Warner that the money was linked to his vote." "Moreover, Mr Hargitay spelled out the connection between the timing of the payments and what he described as "our collective work," even warning "that reality" was "not served by a protracted approach that will kick in in January"—i.e., after the FIFA Executive Committee's December 2010 decision." "The record provides significant evidence that the AU$500,000 was paid with the intention of influencing Mr Warner's World Cup vote." Mr Garcia concluded that Australia's bid team perceived the payment as a benefit for Mr Warner, as did Mr Warner himself. "Whether the bid team knew Mr Warner would later misappropriate the money or that the COE project itself was designed for such purposes by Mr Warner does not change these facts," Mr Garcia wrote.

His report is also highly critical of Mr Buckley's decision to get the FFA to pay for an under-20s football team associated with Mr Warner to travel to Cyprus to play the Australian juniors team. Mr Garcia said that an "innocuous-sounding explanation in Mr Buckley's July 2, 2010 letter to FIFA" about FFA's support of this travel "omitted any mention of Mr Warner's requests for escalating financial support of the TTFF U-20 team, of Mr Hargitay's statement assuring Australia 2022 that if it covered TTFF's travel expenses he would "make sure there is a quid pro quo", of Mr Hargitay's proposal to disguise those "quid pro quo" expenses as Mr Hargitay's own "marketing costs", and of Mr Hargitay's subsequent promise that paying still more costs for the team from Warner's association 'WILL make a difference!'." Mr Garcia found that "those points are strong evidence that FFA made improper payments intended to influence the vote of an executive committee member". Mr Garcia is also scathing of the FFA's promises to support projects in Africa and Oceania. "These examples of 'football development' reveal a disturbing pattern," Mr Garcia's report states..

"FFA's approach to funding development projects in Africa and elsewhere is a further unfortunate example of bid teams using money that should be awarded based upon humanitarian considerations to curry favour with officials eligible to vote on December 2, 2010. Loading "The bidding guidelines requiring candidates to support development efforts cannot be fairly read to encourage such behaviour. FFA's statement that there was 'uncertainty as to how to demonstrate that commitment' is not credible. Far from seeming 'uncertain', Australia 2022 appears to have reached the firm conclusion that it could best 'demonstrate [its] commitment' by targeting development projects in areas home to FIFA executive committee members." Mr Lowy and Mr Buckley are being sought for comment.