CIVIL WAR ERUPTS IN FAI OVER €20M DEAL

THE late Jack Charlton was hailed for uniting a nation but an open revolt is threatening to split Irish football down the middle. After the aborted coup by a number of FAI directors last week, the volunteers from the FAI Council have daubed the warpaint and are marching on Abbotstown. James Kelly, a Council member from the Leinster FA, is calling for an emergency meeting of the Association’s Senior Council to deal with the ‘ticking time bomb’ of the Memorandum of Understanding. Under FAI rules, should Kelly secure 20 signatures in support, the president, Gerry McAnaney, must call a full FAI Council meeting within 14 days. The FAI Council has powers to remove any board member by a two-thirds majority vote – and it appears FAI chairman Roy Barrett is in its sights. Kelly points out that Barrett signed off on the MoU on January 30, which, if ratified at an EGM, would ‘expose the game of football in Ireland to the real danger of excessive control by outside interests,’ he warns, ‘resulting in a complete loss of sovereignty’. It would also remove the Council’s role as voluntary vedettes. An EGM is due before the end of July to ratify the FAI Constitution. Barrett is adamant the deal he helped negotiate is crucial for the well-being of the cash-strapped FAI. If approved, it will release almost €20million in muchneeded funding for the FAI. Kelly acknowledges the likely rift to come if the EGM rejects the MoU’s terms. ‘Constructive engagement between Council and Board is critical to avoid a future crisis that may very well follow an acrimonious EGM,’ he writes.