TD says Delaney has questions to answer on financial transactions
Fianna Fáil’s spokesperson on Transport, Tourism and Sport Robert Troy says that the Football Association of Ireland’s chief executive John Delaney needs to come before the Oireachtas Committee to answer serious questions about financial transactions.
The FAI has a responsibility to adhere to government protocols, he told RTE radio’s .
At the weekend, the FAI confirmed that a €100,000 bridging loan was made to the Association by CEO John Delaney in April 2017 and was repaid in full two months later.
An FAI spokesman said: "The FAI is currently undertaking a full review of its executive governance and senior management structures. This review will be completed and all actions approved by early April when a full press conference will be held to reveal all outcomes.
"In the meantime, the Association reiterates that the bridging loan was made in the best interests of the FAI in 2017 when it experienced a short-term cash flow issue. The Board of the FAI has been kept fully informed in relation to this matter at all times."
Mr Troy said today: “My advice to John Delaney is he should use his appearance before the Oireachtas Committee to answer why the FAI needed funding, why they didn’t use a financial institution for bridging finance, why was the transaction not declared in the 2017 accounts?"
He added that the FAI had a responsibility to adhere to strict corporate governance guidelines introduced after the ticketing scandal at the Olympic games in Rio-de-Janeiro.
If the FAI has not yet implemented such governance guidelines then Mr Delaney needs to advise the Oireachtas Committee why that is so.
The failure to ensure openness and transparency raises suspicions, he said and leaves “a cloud of darkness over the FAI”.
There was no reason to believe that Mr Delaney would not answer such questions at the Committee, he added.
