FAI boss steps down
‘Writing was on the wall’ for embattled Hill after payments controversy
FOOTBALL Association of Ireland chief executive Jonathan Hill will step down at the end of the month, following the fallout from a breach of the organisation’s pay policy.
Last November, Government funding to the FAI was suspended after it was discovered payments to Mr Hill were in breach of its terms.
The issue centred on unused annual leave which had been paid to Mr Hill, amounting to €11,500, and was contrary to policy as it pushed his salary beyond €216,000 – a limit linked to the pay of a government department general secretary. A further €8,000 received by Mr Hill for commuting expenses was also repaid.
In December, at the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee, Mr Hill was accused of concocting a ‘cock-and-bull’ story in explaining the breach. He claimed a ‘throwaway’ joke he made in sanctioning annual leave to be paid to a junior employee resulted in his unused annual leave being financially reimbursed.
At another PAC hearing in February, FAI president Paul Cooke refused to express confidence in Mr Hill, instead saying his confidence in him had been ‘challenged’ by the controversy.
FAI chief operating officer David Courell has been made interim CEO ahead of what the association said would be ‘a structured search for a full-time successor’.
Government sources told the Irish Daily Mail that while they did not know Mr Hill was going to resign, they felt the ‘writing was on the wall’. The FAI has yet to come to the Government with an updated memorandum of understanding (MOU), which is needed for funding to be released in 2024.
There is concern within Government ranks that the FAI could be plunged into a fresh funding crisis if an election is called and a new agreement is not in place. In January 2020, a new MOU was agreed between the Government and the FAI which established a restoration of funding and the provision of additional money between 2020 and 2023. It came after sustained controversy at the organisation that brought it to the brink of financial ruin. The FAI received €19.1million in funding from the State after the Cabinet agreed the rescue package. Funding had been halted in 2019 after The Sunday Times revealed former FAI chief John Delaney, who was getting a €360,000-a-year salary, provided the organisation with a €100,000 ‘bridging loan’.
The emergence of the loan prompted a forensic financial examination of the FAI which unearthed errors in financial reporting to mask the true health of the organisation.
Thomas Byrne, Minister of State at the Department of Sport, yesterday said he recognised the ‘significant’ reform introduced by Mr Hill. ‘I will continue to engage with the FAI leadership on its future developments plans, including its interim CEO, David Courell, and I want to wish Jonathan well in his next chapter,’ he said.