The FIFA vote was rocked by controversy and accusations of corruption which saw Blatter's only rival - AFC chief Mohamed bin Hammam - suspended over a $1m bribes probe.

Senior officials within FIFA's Executive Committee were also suspended or sacked in the corruption campaign and Blatter himself was also accused of a role but cleared on the eve of the election.

Horrified multinational global brand sponsors rushed to distance themselves from the ugly election and demanded FIFA clean up its act as soon as possible.

But when the FA in England put up a motion demanding a delay to the election until all the claims had been investigated, it won only 17 votes and 17 abstentions, against 172 votes for the ballot.

The election then continued with Sepp Blatter as the sole candidate on the ballot paper. He required 50% of the vote plus one to be re-elected, which meant even abstentions did not count against him.

In the end just 17 members of FIFA's 208-strong Congress 'spoilt' their papers to register their protest...but the FFA was not among them.

Chief Executive Ben Buckley today revealed he had voted for the election to go ahead and to back Blatter, 75, for his fourth spell in power since taking charge in 1998.

Buckley insisted: "We didn't believe there was any support for that position and that was obviously evidenced by the vote when it was taken when the proposal was put forward."

Yet on the eve of the vote, fans in Australia had delivered the FFA damning stats from an online poll conducted by Football Supporters of Australia showing 94 percent wanted the vote stopped.

If the vote did go ahead, more than half didn't want Australia to take part, and another 43 percent wanted the FFA to abstain. More than 3000 people took part in the poll from 36 countries in total.

Buckley added: "Certainly the language coming from the president and the rest of the FIFA executives today was positive in that it would look to reform the decision-making process, particularly around the World Cup.

"And we've been on the record before as saying that that process is somewhat flawed and needs to be looked at.

"There's a strong willingness for FIFA to look at the governance practices and that's a good step in the right direction."

But Socceroo Craig Foster told ABC: "I'm disappointed that the FFA essentially through this process has stood for nothing.

"I guess they're standing for their own possibilities of hosting the 2022 World Cup in the unlikely event of a re-vote. However football itself is more important than anything at present.

"The FFA have virtually made no comments right throughout this process."

Federal Government Sports Minister and football fan Mark Arbib also joined in the condemnation of Blatter's scandal-struck FIFA today.

"Reform is necessary," he told ABC Radio. "What FIFA requires is action that took place in the IOC  after Salt Lake City when the IOC cleaned up its game and that is exactly what FIFA now requires,

"And of course the voting members of FIFA need to ensure that president Blatter is held to his word.

"He has said he will reform the organisation and it's time for that to take place."