Chief strategist Hargitay insists Australia had been promised six votes in the first round of voting after FIFA Executive Committee members pledged their support to Australia just hours before the final vote.

Hargitay -  - who was chosen for the job because of his elite contacts at the very highest level of FIFA - claims the delegates met with FFA Chairman Frank Lowy, shook hands with him, looked him in the eye and promised to vote for Australia.

In the end though, Australia got just one vote and was eliminated in the first round of voting.

Even although that solitary vote is believed to have come from Germany's Franz Beckenbauer, Hargitay revealed at least two FIFA ExCo delegates still claim to have made the one vote.

But Hargitay did NOT reveal who the five nations were that said they would vote for us...and then backed our rivals instead.

"We were conned," he told SBS's Les Murray who says he counts Hargitay as a personal friend. "We were played.

"I had responsibility within the team. I did give advice. I believe my advice was right. We did not lose because we did the wrong thing.

"We made mistakes but we didn't make such a big mistake that would have warranted this kind of result."

He added: "If I felt I needed to apologise to anyone, I would. I don't.

"We did the right thing under the circumstances...Qatar just had too many votes."

Hargitay said Lowy insisted from the outset that Australia would play strictly by the rules, regardless of the impact it may have on the bid.

"The most fundamental mistake we made is that we played it clean," he said.

But Hargitay implied those were different from the rules Qatar played by - and hinted that dark forces may have been behind their landslide win, almost claiming victory in the very first vote with 11 votes, just one shy of the 12 needed.

"Football is the loser because a lot of dishonesty went on," he said. "Because of a result that is highly questionable.

"Two people claimed to have cast our one vote and those four or five who had re-confirmed their vote for us just before they went in to vote, they just vanished.

"The chairman is not a rookie. He knows how to do business and deal with people. He is a great leader and he is the one into whose hand promises were made and confirmed.

"You are dealing with a very special kind of person who will shake your hand, look in your eye and say I'm with you..."

He slammed the turncoat delegates who threw their weight behind the Qatar bid and questioned their reasons.

"What do you think motivates them to vote for a country the population of which is the size of Zurich?" he asked. "To vote for a country that is the size of Fiji? 

"To vote for a country where the infrastructure to play host to millions of fans still has to be created? You go figure...How can 14 men take that decision? It's astounding."