The John Delaney Thread

[NeverFeltBetter]

It would be great if the success of an LOI club is what leads to Delaney's downfall.

[thebronze14]

A joint statement from the Dublin, 54 Crew and From Behind the Nets supporters groups regarding the FAI appearance in front of the Oireachtas Committee

We as supporters of Finn Harps Football Club feel the need to comment on the Oireachtas Committee hearing on Wednesday. As genuine Football fans we can do nothing but protest at the manner in which the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) would appear to being run. We realise that if we remain silent the status quo will persist.

The fact that the new Executive Vice-President chose to remain silent speaks volumes for the manner in which the FAI has been allowed to be dominated by one man. Surely the former Chief executive has answers to the questions, that, not only the members of the Oireachtas but Sport Ireland and indeed it would seem members of the Board of the FAI seek. If you have nothing to hide why stay silent?

The board/former CEO claim to have the best interests of Irish football at heart. However, due to their actions and lack of transparency Sports Ireland has cut funding which will undoubtedly effect grassroots football and the growth of the game in our country. We call on the Board of the FAI and the Executive-Vice President to resign and allow football in Ireland the chance to start again.

As supporters of a League of Ireland club we have for many years been fed the line from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) that the League was a problem child. It would seem that the FAI itself has been the problem.

[Siberian]

All that was missing yesterday was the FAI rep lifting a Dunne Stores plastic bag stuffed with notes shouting 'Scoops'!! Can anyone get hold of that Apres Match sketch, classic!

[brine3]

The supporters should write to UEFA.

The FAI clearly have a cashflow problem, and apparently John Delaney needs a second job at the FAI just to be able to carry out his UEFA duties. Clearly, our cash-trapped FA can't afford the salary for this extra job, so maybe UEFA would be kind enough to relieve Mr. Delaney from his UEFA position?

[pineapple stu]

UEFA will do nothing to one of their own.

Best thing you can do is change your mobile phone or electricity supplier, and let them know why

[NeverFeltBetter]

Varadkar weighing in now: https://www.rte.ie/news/2019/0412/1042222-fai-delaney/

[jbyrne]

The FAI clearly have a cashflow problem

do they though? i think it only prudent that someone investigates and proves if the FAI actually needed the €100,000 at the time. aren't there suspicions that the €100,000 may have been transferred to the FAI for other non FAI reasons? if a national associations accounts were being used for personal reasons that is clearly an severe abuse of position

[pineapple stu]

It's hard to know alright.

On the one hand, Dundalk asking for 300k and getting paid in drips and drabs is classic insolvent behaviour

On the other hand, Delaney's account of how he came to realise that the FAI needed urgent cash is simply utterly contrary to how companies work at the top level when going broke (speaking from experience here!)

So that then encourages the rumour that Delaney was sneaking money into the company to hide it from the ex-wife.

And of course in the background someone's lurking who's leaked all this. The ex? But would she have had remittance details? That sounds like an inside job.

It's all very strange.

[geysir]

Imagine a club using the FAI as their banker.

[Cathalsmart]

https://m.independent.ie/world-news/asia-pacific/kim-jongun-handed-new-title-as-part-of-the-largest-political-shakeup-in-years-38011377.html?fbclid=IwAR1H1_KljKmoykD7hlP9Za1vbuR 9rJoG_pNKRLaUVKiX91zzmMWmtoGeFf8

Sounds almost identical to a certain federation doesn’t it?

[geysir]

It's hard to know alright.

On the one hand, Dundalk asking for 300k and getting paid in drips and drabs is classic insolvent behaviour

On the other hand, Delaney's account of how he came to realise that the FAI needed urgent cash is simply utterly contrary to how companies work at the top level when going broke (speaking from experience here!)

So that then encourages the rumour that Delaney was sneaking money into the company to hide it from the ex-wife.

And of course in the background someone's lurking who's leaked all this. The ex? But would she have had remittance details? That sounds like an inside job.

It's all very strange.
Don't you think the timing of Dundalk's urgent request (out of the blue) puts more credence into the bridging loan theory? and there is the evidence of 100k paid out to Dundalk, followed a few days later with the 100k in to the FAI account. That fits Delaney's statement that he wrote a cheque for 100k to use only if necessary to keep the FAI overdraft under the limit.
That's why an electronic transfer was not made.
Unless Delaney had a brainwave and used the state of the overdraft limit crisis to his benefit to stash his cash, therefore the FAI could avoid looking for more regular alternative solutions which were available to them.

[pineapple stu]

Don't you think the timing of Dundalk's urgent request (out of the blue) puts more credence into the bridging loan theory?
I do.

I don't agree with your analysis of the cheque over bank transfer though. It was lodged 24 hours after it was written - it was clearly needed. But it still takes 3-5 days to clear. That means for 3-5 days after you lodge it, it will appear on your bank statement but you will not be able to spend it.

Such a crisis also doesn't tie in with two things. The first is the basic operation of a financially-strapped company. I worked in a garage which went bust; the MD wanted bank balances first thing each morning for the three months before the bank stepped in. Cash crises do - or shouldn't, at least - come out of the blue like this one has.

The second issue is a rough analysis of the FAI's cash flows. They had 900k at 1 Jan. We know they're getting Sport Ireland funding as early as possible - say E1m. The Wales game was a sell-out - would that have cleared another E1m? It must be a big cash generator for the FAI. Then there's UEFA money - let's ignore it for now, but it's big. And there's the usual trickling income from the league, the FAI shop, sponsorship, etc, etc

So that's about 3m - but by the middle of April, they were breaching their E1.5m overdraft. That's 4.5m burnt through in 15 weeks. 300k a week. That's too big for me. I don't believe it.

Now maybe of the 900k in the bank, 2m was UEFA money owed to Dundalk. That would be huge of course. But on what I can see for now, I don't believe the bridging loan theory. But I absolutely acknowledge that their treatment of Dundalk is that of an insolvent organisation.

[Cathalsmart]

https://mobile.twitter.com/marktigheST/status/1117035865199407104

Fai are having talks this afternoon, wonder if above is also an ultimatum.

[pineapple stu]

I see the FAI's Finance Director has just jumped ship to Carroll's Gift Shops literally in the past couple of weeks. Coincidence?

[geysir]

I do.

I don't agree with your analysis of the cheque over bank transfer though. It was lodged 24 hours after it was written - it was clearly needed. But it still takes 3-5 days to clear. That means for 3-5 days after you lodge it, it will appear on your bank statement but you will not be able to spend it.

Such a crisis also doesn't tie in with two things. The first is the basic operation of a financially-strapped company. I worked in a garage which went bust; the MD wanted bank balances first thing each morning for the three months before the bank stepped in. Cash crises do - or shouldn't, at least - come out of the blue like this one has.

The second issue is a rough analysis of the FAI's cash flows. They had 900k at 1 Jan. We know they're getting Sport Ireland funding as early as possible - say E1m. The Wales game was a sell-out - would that have cleared another E1m? It must be a big cash generator for the FAI. Then there's UEFA money - let's ignore it for now, but it's big. And there's the usual trickling income from the league, the FAI shop, sponsorship, etc, etc

So that's about 3m - but by the middle of April, they were breaching their E1.5m overdraft. That's 4.5m burnt through in 15 weeks. 300k a week. That's too big for me. I don't believe it.

Now maybe of the 900k in the bank, 2m was UEFA money owed to Dundalk. That would be huge of course. But on what I can see for now, I don't believe the bridging loan theory. But I absolutely acknowledge that their treatment of Dundalk is that of an insolvent organisation.
It still all points to the likelihood that a bridging loan was needed and Delaney's statement still stands, 'lodge it if you need to' and it was needed the next day. Either way, whatever the exact instructions from Delaney were doesn't change much and it doesn't make the weak 'secreting asset theory' any stronger.
Obviously the FAI survived, sufficient income came in and they carried on and that supports Conway's statement of 'cyclical' not insolvency.

Much as I'd like to think there were darker issues involved, it looks to be the simple and obvious, from a temporarily cash strapped situation in 2017, the FAI foolishly allowed Delaney to lead them into a cesspit some 2 years later in order to cover for Delaney's past decisions.

[SkStu]

https://www.the42.ie/john-delaney-leaving-the-fai-4590636-Apr2019/?amp=1&__twitter_impression=true


JOHN DELANEY IS expected to leave the Football Association of Ireland, The42 understands, and an announcement confirming so may be made as early as tonight.

Delaney’s future was discussed at Board meetings last night and today.

The42 also understands that the future of another two members of the Board – Honorary Treasurer Eddie Murray and Honorary Secretary Michael Cody – are in the balance as their futures have been subject to Board discussion.

[SkStu]

https://twitter.com/tonyleen/status/1117096849540833282?s=21

It’s happening!!!

[pineapple stu]

It still all points to the likelihood that a bridging loan was needed and Delaney's statement still stands, 'lodge it if you need to' and it was needed the next day.
Not disagreeing with you - I simply don't know what happened - but if funds were needed the next day, a cheque would have been no use.

I said earlier on this thread (back when this all blew up) that the simplest explanation - i.e. the FAI were broke - was likely the correct one, as opposed to Delaney embezzling funds or hiding stuff from his misses. Neither explanation makes 100% sense given the info to hand to be honest.

It is entirely possible Delaney's a crap CEO and simply wasn't interested in the bank balance of course, allowing this crisis to build and figuring his ego would get him through it.

Either way, allowing the FAI to go bust or hiding funds through the FAI are both serious issues; I don't think one's necessarily that much worse than the other.

[Cathalsmart]

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=tA8aSa86d_U&feature=em-comments

Bit off topic but on Delaney, skip to 0:22 and apparently when the Irish team was doing well he was suddenly a great man...

[Treaty Gooner]

News leaking out that he’s gone

[pineapple stu]

I've seen that he's gone from the Board, but we knew that.

Is he gone from the FAI altogether yet?

[osarusan]

John O'Regan of the KDL has told Radio Kerry Sports that John Delaney sent him a text to say that he (Delaney) was stepping down from his position as Executive Vice President of the FAI
https://twitter.com/radiokerrysport/status/1117111424638246914?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5 Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1117111424638246914&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fpunditarena.com%2Ffootball%2 Foisinmcqueirns2758%2Freport-john-delaney-has-resigned-from-fai%2F

Lets wait for something a bit more 'official'.

[Fixer82]

It's hard to know alright.

So that then encourages the rumour that Delaney was sneaking money into the company to hide it from the ex-wife.

.

That was the first thing that came to mind when this all came out.

Either he’s hiding the money because of a divorce, or else he’s sticking it into an account to build interest and then withdraw at a later date.

[osarusan]

Didn't the whole publicity storm come about because this loan was revealed in divorce proceedings?

[Fixer82]

Didn't the whole publicity storm come about because this loan was revealed in divorce proceedings?

Is that so? Didn’t know that

[pineapple stu]

Yeah, it was certainly mentioned in or before his Oireachtas speech. He was claiming the info was private as it arose from the divorce proceedings.

[Scrufil]

So it appears that even if John Delaney resigns from the FAI he still retains his UEFA position until 2021. I think the only way he might be removed from that position without resigning would be if serious criminal charges were proved against him.

On the otherhand if he is sacked from his current position will he take litigation against the FAI?

[gufct]

Is that so? Didn’t know that

That is untrue and his wife’s Solicitors threatened to sue both jd and the Fai unless they withdrew the reference in his first statement after the loan was unearthed. After the articles in the Sunday Times and Sunday Independent today the whole board has to go and a forensic external review of the fai's accounts back to 2001 will have to happen . I would also say that revenue and the cab might also have to go in .

[osarusan]

That is untrue and his wife’s Solicitors threatened to sue both jd and the Fai unless they withdrew the reference in his first statement after the loan was unearthed.
Do you mean it didn't originally come out of divorce proceedings?

Anyway, The Sunday Times has plenty of detail about Delaney racking up €40,000 of spending on his FAI credit card in the second half of 2016. Lets hope the calls for an external forensic audit get too loud to ignore, because I'd say that there have been others with their snouts in the trough too.

[pineapple stu]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/john-delaney-racked-up-40-000-spending-on-fai-credit-card-in-just-six-months-2xch297km

[pineapple stu]

Makes the really good point that credit card irregularities was what he used to oust Bernard O'Boyle in the first place. Now he's withdrawing a grand a month in cash.

[gufct]

Do you mean it didn't originally come out of divorce proceedings?

Anyway, The Sunday Times has plenty of detail about Delaney racking up €40,000 of spending on his FAI credit card in the second half of 2016. Lets hope the calls for an external forensic audit get too loud to ignore, because I'd say that there have been others with their snouts in the trough too.

None of the information came from his divorce proceedings and what’s in the public domain is only the tip of the iceberg. For those who think jd can keep his Uefa Job https://uk.reuters.com/article/uk-soccer-germany-grindel/former-german-fa-chief-grindel-steps-down-from-uefa-and-fifa-idUKKCN1RM238

[Diggs246]

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/ireland/john-delaney-racked-up-40-000-spending-on-fai-credit-card-in-just-six-months-2xch297km

"While Delaney was on a salary of €360,000 as chief executive, he used the FAI credit card to pay for duty-free purchases at airports, meals in his local pub in Wicklow and to make cash withdrawals of more than €6,000 in six months"

Someone call the cops please

[pineapple stu]

Yup. Or Revenue. And it goes on to say -




Delaney’s FAI credit card included 13 separate bills from Plucks, his local pub and restaurant in Kilmacanogue, amounting to a total of €563 in six months.
The credit card statements show Delaney had a tendency to withdraw cash using the FAI card in sums ranging from €100 to €250. In just over 40 cash withdrawals in six months, Delaney withdrew more than €6,180. These withdrawals incurred bank charges of more than €115 for the FAI.

On July 21, 2016, Delaney withdrew €200 and €150 from the Topaz garage in Kilmacanogue. On the same date, the credit card was used to withdraw the sterling equivalent of €265 in Terminal 2 of Heathrow. On October 7, the day after Ireland won a home World Cup qualifier against Georgia and two days before the team played away to Moldova, Delaney withdrew €600 in cash in three transactions.

[pineapple stu]

Now it's possible he uses Plucks as a convenient place for meetings given it's close to home. So if you've a 5pm meeting, arranging it there as opposed to Abbotstown could suit both parties.

But the cash is dodgy

[pineapple stu]

None of the information came from his divorce proceedings and ]
It's customary to give some sort of source or indication as to where you're coming from gufct.

Because Delaney himself argued in court that it came from his divorce proceedings -


He had argued that as the documents detailing the transactions came to light as a result of an in-camera family law case involving his ex-wife, they should not be placed in the public domain.

https://extra.ie/2019/03/18/news/irish-news/john-delaney-fai-loan

He could be lying of course - but certainly at the moment I'll believe what he told the High Court over what you're saying

[gufct]

The judge actually ruled against him as the Times proved that the source of their story was a whistleblower from within or formerly within the Fai and that the documentation was not from his divorce proceedings.

[pineapple stu]

Again, link away.

The link I've provided says that -


Mr Delaney attempted to secure an emergency injunction preventing The Sunday Times publishing details of the €100,000 loan late on Saturday night. He had argued that as the documents detailing the transactions came to light as a result of an in-camera family law case involving his ex-wife, they should not be placed in the public domain.

However, the judge ruled that there was a clear public interest in publishing the material. ‘I am satisfied that the finances of the FAI and any payment and repayment to its chief executive are matters of significant public interest,’ the judge ruled.
So the judge said that regardless of who broke the news, it was public interest and therefore newsworthy.

This link (https://www.broadsheet.ie/2019/03/19/for-the-last-time-it-was-a-bridging-loan/) says that the judge found no proof of a link with divorce proceedings. Which is not quite the same as what you said.

But on stuff like this - you have to post a link.

[nr637]

If Mr. Delaney eventually resigns or leaves the FAI in some form, how is allowed to continue in a role with UEFA ?

[centre mid]

If Mr. Delaney eventually resigns or leaves the FAI in some form, how is allowed to continue in a role with UEFA ?

I think he can't be on an executive committee but he can still work for UEFA.

[geysir]

The judge actually ruled against him as the Times proved that the source of their story was a whistleblower from within or formerly within the Fai and that the documentation was not from his divorce proceedings.
The "whisltleblower" would almost certainly be the Times' source for the 100k loan. It is the modus operandi of the Times to purchase/gather information via the whistleblower. The Times' lawyers would have gone over it with a fine comb.
I'd understand that the credit card info came via this source.

[backstothewall]

I do wonder if with establishing this Executive Vice President position the FAI might have stumbled upon a structure that works for us.

The Irish Times are keen to push the credentials of Padraig Smith and Susan Whelan at Leicester City is another potential option for the CEO role.

I could see a successful structure where the FAI had Rea Walshe handling the day-to-day running, a CEO in overall control and setting the strategic direction and someone like Niall Quinn as Exec VP to bring experience of the football world to the leadership team and acting as a public face for the association (showing up at UEFA events etc).

[NeverFeltBetter]

Delaney simply said "No comment" when leaving the board meeting today. Still clinging on perhaps.

[geysir]

No doubt Delaney has somebody negotiating his 'release package'.
That board of numpties have probably hired some consultants at €5,000 p/h. to advise them what to do.

[Treaty Gooner]

Sure John Delaney could run anything.

[pineapple stu]

He has stepped aside pending the investigation. Hanging on to the last, the aul *******

[BonnieShels]

Makes the really good point that credit card irregularities was what he used to oust Bernard O'Boyle in the first place. Now he's withdrawing a grand a month in cash.

And wasn't that only for £200? The cheek!

---

The latest one now is that he has offered to step aside pending the outcome of the investigations.

I mean at this stage his brass neck will have to be upgraded to platinum!

Also, howyis
1

[the 12 th man]

Treasurer and one other Board Member gone as well.

[geysir]

And wasn't that only for £200? The cheek!

---

The latest one now is that he has offered to step aside pending the outcome of the investigations.

I mean at this stage his brass neck will have to be upgraded to platinum!

Also, howyis
1
The last time you were here Bonnie (that was last january) you brazenly boasted that you would be more regular on the board. You have a serious dose of foot ie constipation.

[the 12 th man]

By the way,the 3 have stepped aside and not resigned.