TESTING TIMES FOR FAI CHAIRMAN AS HIS ROLE NOW IN JEOPARDY
IT’s been a stressful few days for Roy Barrett away from his role as independent chairman of the FAI.
On Friday last, he had to deal with the 11th-hour collapse of a €155million takeover by the Bank of China of Goodbodys, the 144-year-old Irish brokerage firm of which he is managing director. A lifelong Leeds United fan, Barrett lamented the passing of Jack Charlton on Saturday morning, as it recalled a time when Leeds under Don Revie were kings of English football. Promotion may yet come to pass but all Leeds fans are in squeaky-bum territory with three games to go. Many candles will be lit ahead of their game versus Barnsley tomorrow night. Against this backdrop, Barrett is quite cool – as a whiff of revolt revolves around the Abbotstown Bastille. First, it was his fellow directors who had him in their line of fire, now the FAI Council has been stirred on a war footing for the first time since ‘Merriongate’ in 1996. Where was their voice when John Delaney was running, and ruining, the FAI? Under FAI rules, the Council, which includes president Gerry McAnaney and vice-president Paul Cooke, can remove any director from the board but what would culling Barrett (right) achieve? The reputation of the FAI for infighting would be enhanced, and the financial position would be worse than ever. The terms of the deal agreed by Barrett and Shane Ross in January may not be palatable to the FAI’s rank-and-file, not least the concession of power to the non-football directors on the board, but the ‘Six vs Six’ could be reviewed in time if it’s not working.
As it stands, the deal guarantees the financial salvation of an Association on its knees after 15 years of chronic mismanagement and Council indifference. An injection of almost €20million in State cash would keep the show on the road, and perhaps encourage sponsors to do business with the FAI – right now, no one wants to touch them.
If the rebels turf out Barrett and burn the Memorandum of Understanding on the stake of indignation, there won’t be a cent in the kitty, and the Government and Bank of Ireland would be entitled to feel short-changed. Who will tell the FAI’s workforce that their jobs are gone? Or Stephen Kenny and his players they’re flying Ryanair to Bratislava in October? As for plans for the FAI Centenary in 2021, they might be no more than a kick-about with jumpers for goalposts in the Phoenix Park. These are emotive times, and feelings are high, but no one wants to see Irish football back at square one.