NOW LEO PUTS THE BOOT IN
Taoiseach says nobody would be satisfied with lack of answers... and Sport Ireland will decide FAI’s fate
LEO Varadkar has stuck the boot into John Delaney, warning the tight-lipped FAI boss that taxpayers and football fans are demanding answers.
The Taoiseach led growing criticism of the soccer body’s resolute silence over a €100,000 loan it was given by Mr Delaney.
Already the Leinster League has warned that its clubs ‘are not confident in the direction the FAI board has taken this’, while main sponsors, including Three Ireland, told of their worries over corporate governance at the body.
The simmering anger increased after Mr Delaney read a short statement at
an eight-hour Oireachtas Sports Committee meeting, set up to clear the air, and then refused to answer questions, claiming it was because of legal advice.
The FAI has already failed to meet pledges made at the Oireachtas meeting on Wednesday: to explain why the loan was not included in the association’s monthly financial accounts; and to reveal who signed off on a press release wrongly stating that the board had been kept ‘fully informed’ about the loan.
Mr Varadkar acknowledged that Mr Delaney was ‘within his legal rights’ to stay silent as ‘he is not a public servant’. However, in a firm rebuke to the taxpayerbacked FAI, he said: ‘I don’t think anyone would be satisfied by it. I think the public, taxpayers and football fans would’ve liked to have seen those questions
‘Millions of euro in taxpayer funds’
being answered.’
And he warned that the Government will ensure ‘the millions of euro in taxpayers’ money that we give to the FAI have been used for the purpose intended’.
He said: ‘The FAI is actually not a public body. It’s a private organisation, it’s a company so I suppose he’s within his legal rights not to account to the Oireachtas as he is not a public servant and is not accountable to the Oireachtas.’
Mr Varadkar added: ‘The FAI is accountable to the ODCE [companies watchdog, the Office of the Director of Corporate Enforcement] and is accountable to Sport Ireland for the public money they get, and I know those bodies will have questions to ask of the FAI, which I think need to be answered.’
The FAI has already missed the deadline it set for itself to answer the question put to it by Sinn Féin TD Jonathan O’Brien on Wednesday, on why the €100,000 loan was not included in the monthly financial accounts.
FAI board president Donal Conway said he would answer the question the following day, but Mr O’Brien told the Irish Daily Mail yesterday that he still hadn’t received an answer.
Members of the FAI delegation also said they would confirm who signed off on the press release, issued on March 18, which wrongly stated that the board had been kept ‘fully informed’ about the loan.
Mr O’Brien said the failure to answer his outstanding question is ‘quite inexcusable’. He told Mail: ‘They were in front of an Oireachtas committee giving evidence. They said it on the record. It is there, it is minuted and then for them just to completely ignore that is not acceptable.’
And last night Mr O’Brien told the Mail he was removed from a Cork City FC match after he intervened between gardaí and protesters who were holding up a Tricolour that bore the words, ‘Delaney Out’ during the game. He said: ‘There was a peaceful protest amongst Cork City supporters, there was a Delaney Out banner held up. I did not hold it up. I intervened to try and calm the situation first and foremost as a Cork City fan and somebody who would have some bit of influence amongst Cork City supporters and I was removed from the grounds by the guards.’
A request for comment to Cork City FC had not been responded to by last night.
The Leinster Senior League has written to its 138 member clubs asking if they had confidence in the board and Mr Delaney, who is now executive vice-president.
The league’s chairman David
‘Something rotten in state of the FAI’
Moran told Morning Ireland yesterday that the clubs were saying ‘they are not confident after what they’ve seen over the last couple of weeks. They are not confident in the direction that the FAI board has taken this’.
The main sponsor for the Irish soccer team, Three Ireland, warned: ‘Corporate governance is of utmost importance at Three and we expect the same from all partners we work with. We note that the FAI has commissioned two reports to review recent matters and we expect all recommendations to be implemented.’
Similar concerns were aired by the providers of the Irish kits MD Toplion Sportswear and JACC Sports Distributors. And the Professional Footballers’ Association said there is ‘something rotten in the state of the FAI’ and called on the finances of the association to be forensically examined and its governance to be ‘completely overhauled’.
On Tuesday, Sport Ireland suspended State funding to the FAI for breaching the terms for grant approval. Sport Ireland gives €2.7million to the association.
So far this year, 50% of the funding has been provided; the remainder will be held until Sport Ireland is satisfied that the necessary processes are in place to ensure that the FAI is complying with all terms and conditions.