Fifa's Sepp Blatter resigns: Australian FFA chair Frank Lowy piles pressure on Qatar World Cup saying bids were 'not clean'

The Australian official has issued an extraordinary open letter following Blatter's resignation

Frank Lowy is attended to by medics after falling from the stage as Melbourne won the Australia A-League trophy (GETTY IMAGES)

The chairman of the Australian football association has issued an extraordinary open letter in the wake of Sepp Blatter's resignation as Fifa leader, piling pressure on the Qatar 2022 World Cup.

FFA chair Frank Lowy said he had "nursed a bitter grievance" since Australia won just a single vote for its bid to host the tournament, and claimed his country had never even stood a chance.

The resignation of Blatter offered hope that "world football might just be at the dawn of a new era", Mr Lowy said, as he rejected criticisim over FFA a donation made by the FFA to Concacaf for a "feasibility study".

"We ran a clean bid," he wrote. "I know that others did not, and I have shared what I know with the authorities, including Michael Garcia who undertook a 2-year investigation into the 2022 World Cup bid."

Mr Lowy described the events of the past week at Fifa as "a watershed", and said: "Now, at last, it appears there might be new leadership at Fifa willing to listen to these ideas."

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