Inside the FAI: Secret contracts, hidden losses and spiralling debt

John Delaney: The worst thing ever to happen to Irish football?

THE FIGURES don’t lie. Not now, anyway. After a day of horrific revelations in Abbotstown, it’s easy to make the case that the John Delaney-led regime is the worst thing that has ever happened to Irish football. All of those who helped to prop it up should be queueing up to say sorry to the staff and the sportspeople that will suffer as a consequence.

The unravelling of the spin and the spoof, the bulls**t and the bluster, brings to mind an Oireachtas Committee hearing in January 2017.

Delaney was given a friendly reception in the corridors of political power, as he was until the very end. Successive sports ministers were allies that supported him in the face of criticism, instead of exploring if there was logic in it. It must be remembered that figures like Shane Ross and Brendan Griffin are trying to cast themselves as the solution when they were actually a significant part of the problem.

But in January 2017, Catherine Murphy broke free from the orgy of backslapping to ask some pertinent questions about the governance of the FAI and, more specifically, the handling of the AGM, an event notable for the absence of discourse. Press conference were binned for a couple of years because negativity was unwelcome at this good news story. Delaney was on message on this Dáil date.

“In response to Deputy Murphy’s questions, sometimes what someone may read is not always the way it is in reality,” said the FAI chief executive.

“Perhaps some of the Deputy’s impressions were formed through media reports. We publish our accounts. We hand them to the media on the given day. Our accounts are freely available to anybody who wants to see them.”

We should be grateful that these words are lodged on the public record. In a strange way, there was a truth contained within the answer, just not in the way it was intended. Sometimes what someone may read is not always the way it is in reality. That’s the FAI accounts of that era in a nutshell.

We know the reality now. The surplus that wasn’t a surplus. The directors’ fees that didn’t detail all of the fees paid to the main director. The board-sanctioned contracts that members of the board didn’t really know much about.

The AGM gatherings really did embody what the FAI was all about.

There were security staff manning car parks and hotel entrances, ushering journalists through side doors and fire exits to avoid contact with the general membership. But the real threat to the health of the Association was in the room all along: the dubious information that was meekly accepted as fact.

There should be embarrassment and anger amongst the membership that asked no questions. We haven’t seen much evidence of that yet, however. Remember, it’s only a few short months since a number of provincial leagues and Associations were sending out supporting missives declaring Delaney as the FAI’s best ever appointment.

Incredibly, there are people out there who retain this view. They should be treated with the same suspicion as flat earthers who make YouTube videos claiming that 9/11 was a conspiracy and the moon landing was a hoax.

Donal Conway has done the right thing by stepping down. John Earley, the other remaining board member who sat on Delaney’s top table, should do the decent thing and follow suit.

Conway has deservedly faced criticism for being part of the inner circle that lacked the courage to challenge the dysfunctional decision-making process. In the Dáil and in a series of press conferences, he has been put in uncomfortable positions, and fielded punches that others have dodged.

Crutch

It’s regrettable that the former honorary secretary Michael Cody, Delaney’s strongest crutch, was never asked for his insights. That was an oversight by the Oireachtas Committee when they sent their guest list ahead of April’s hearing. Eddie Murray’s contributions were the most illuminating aspect of that exercise. When the man charged with the role of treasurer isn’t sure about the number of bank accounts, then you’ve got a problem.

That was the beginning of the end for the old FAI but there’s a road to travel before we can declare that a new version has been born. Conway’s successor will likely have to be drawn from the same field that sat on their hands during a decade of wild spending.

FAI staff who fear for their futures have consistently spoken of the need for leadership. For years, they thought they had a strong leader when all they had was the illusion of one.

Sadly, it seems inevitable that the next CEO will have to stand over hard and unpopular decisions that will be essential to keep the show on the road.

Drawing a line under the Delaney years will be difficult because the FAI are going to have to live with the consequences for so long. And maybe it’s important that the memories stay fresh so the same mistakes are avoided.

The main men who failed Irish football weren’t in Abbotstown yesterday, but their shameful legacy is secure. Unlike the battered and broken organisation they have left behind.