Soccer’s world governing body FIFA is being asked to justify its treatment of whistleblowers, only days after it released a summary of its investigation into the World Cup bids.

The report alleged that Australia’s bid for 2022 contained “certain indications of potentially problematic conduct of specific individuals in the light of relevant FIFA ethics rules”.

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The findings of FIFA’s report are disputed, and the original investigator, American lawyer Michael Garcia, said last week his work had been misrepresented.

Now, former football officials Bonita Mersiades and Phaedra Al-Majid are demanding to know why confidential information they discussed with Mr Garcia may now be released now publicly.

Ms Mersiades said she was unexpectedly outed as a whistleblower when FIFA released its summary last week.

“FIFA doesn’t do anything unless it’s going to be patted on the back,” she said.

“In terms of real reform, that will only happen if governments step in and say it’s time for this to change.”

Ms Mersiades is a long-time critic of the organisation.

She gained an insight into the workings of FIFA while working as the head of communications for Football Federation Australia as it mounted an unsuccessful bid for Australia to host the 2022 World Cup.

She now wants assurances that what she told investigators will remain private.

“What we’ve done is written to Mike Garcia, who’s the chairman of the Investigatory Committee of the FIFA Ethics Committee, and asked him to look at a possible breach of FIFA ethics code by FIFA and also Judge Eckert in relation to Article 16.1 of that code, which guarantees confidentiality,” she said.

Report ‘singled out two female whistleblowers’

She said she is also angry that FIFA’s summary report into the World Cup bidding processes appeared to question her credibility.

“First of all, while they have said that they don’t accept what I say, they then go on to describe some of the issues with the Australian bid, which are precisely what I said.

“But putting that aside, the investigator is of course entitled to weigh the evidence and look at issues and make a decision about that, but to single out two women whistleblowers – and refer to them as ‘it’ in the report – out of a possible 70 to 75 witnesses and then basically out them is just an extraordinary action on the part of either Mike Garcia, Judge Eckert or FIFA and it only raises the question as to why they would do that,” she said.

In the meantime, the anger towards soccer’s governing body could see Europe break away from the rest of the world.

German and English football officials are leading the push to dramatically reform FIFA.

Ms Mersiades said it will be up to sponsors and governments and not FIFA itself to pursue real change.

“[It is] one of the most discredited organisations in the world, and in that respect, perhaps FIFA singling out two women who were prepared to talk about these issues and break the culture of silence in FIFA is perhaps not such a bad thing,” she said.

“When you’re put into positions like this, I think it’s like those who have been chipping away for years, some of the investigative journalists, for example, who’ve been chipping away for years at FIFA.

“To the extent that any action that we take helps chip away at that edifice, helps chip away at that extraordinarily poor governance and just that organisation that threw the game of football into disrepute, then I think that’s a job well done.”

-ABC