The John Delaney Thread

[Kingdom]

I love you Stu.

[paul_oshea]

No - this was just a repayment of a loan. No more niche than paying JD his expenses or his salary (assuming his expenses and salary were normal of course)

Seriously, the Treasurer would never be involved with something so basic as authorising payments. Way below his pay grade. And nothing unusual about that.

The comment about bringing in the auditor/FC for the AGM is irrelevant to anything here.

Fair enough, I dont think a Directors loan or vice-versa is a normal everyday transaction(hence the whole furore about it) in a companys accounts - many cases DL to cover excess expenses/payment made in an accounting year - but the line item itself wouldn't be extraordinary.

The treasurer for GAA county boards is in involved in those sorta things but the FAI wouldn't be run in a similar fashion so point taken there.

[NeverFeltBetter]

As Delaney directly referenced the Kerins case when he refused to actually engage with the Oireachtas Commitee, today's Supreme Court ruling that the PAC acted unlawfully has some relevance: https://www.rte.ie/news/ireland/2019/0529/1052307-pac-rehab-group/

As far as I understand it, this means that all Oireachtas Commitees are going to have to be on a tight leash going forward (until there is some kind of legislative change?).

[BonnieShels]

So where are we right now?

[pineapple stu]

First governance report has gone to the Board today.

But all quiet the last while alright. Bit like yourself :)

[BonnieShels]

First governance report has gone to the Board today.

But all quiet the last while alright. Bit like yourself :)

Busy busy man. But the submission deadline is in sight. :)

That being said...


The FAI are remaining tight-lipped on reports that John Delaney is still being paid his €360k CEO salary.

Delaney is currently on 'gardening leave' from the association pending a series of investigations into the FAI's finances and corporate governance issues. He stepped down as CEO on March 23, following the fallout from revelations in the Sunday Times that he gave the association a €100k 'bridging loan' in 2017 with the transaction not lodged in company accounts.

A new position, executive vice president, was created for Delaney with the FAI confirming at the time that "the salary is substantially less than the salary he previously received as CEO".

Delaney's salary as executive vice president is reportedly €120k-per-annum, but the Irish Daily Mail reported today that he is still being paid his CEO salary of €360k.

When contacted about the reports, an FAI spokesperson told Independent.ie: "We don't comment on individual contracts."

Meanwhile, the FAI is to have a new 12-person board containing at least four female and four independent directors.

These form part of the main recommendations made by a governance review committee established in the fallout of the crisis over John Delaney's €100,000 loan to his employers.

The eight remaining members of the board will today be presented with a draft report in Limerick.

If approved, it will need to be ratified by a two-thirds majority at the FAI AGM on July 27.

The governance review committee is chaired by Aidan Horan from the Institute of Public Administration. He was joined by fellow Sport Ireland nominees, Dr Moling Ryan and Joe O'Leary, along with FAI delegates Niamh O'Donoghue and Rea Walshe.

O'Donoghue was the first - and remains the only - female member of the FAI board.

Gender balance is understood to be a core finding of the review carried out for the past eight weeks.

A move to recruit independent directors, which was a recommendation as far back as the 2002 Genesis report, is another integral plank of the report.

Another change proposed, it's believed, is the reduction in volume of the 58-person council. They will also reduce their annual meetings down from four.

Also on the agenda is the scrapping of the secretary and treasurer roles. Both are currently vacant after Michael Cody and Eddie Murray resigned in the wake of the controversy surrounding their close ally, Delaney.



https://www.independent.ie/sport/soccer/international-soccer/fai-silent-on-reports-john-delaney-is-still-being-paid-360k-ceo-salary-38216419.html

[tetsujin1979]

He's resigned.
1178070145211731968

[Eminence Grise]

Good riddance. Time for root and branch reform, though I'm not holding my breath.

[jbyrne]

the next fai scandal will be the amount of delaneys pay off...

[pineapple stu]

That took a worryingly long time.

And given the crap being proposed about the new LoI format, there's evidently a long way to go yet before we have an FAI who know what they're doing...

Still - ding dong the witch is dead and all that

[disgruntled]

He's resigned.
1178070145211731968
At what cost ?


That took a worryingly long time.

And given the crap being proposed about the new LoI format, there's evidently a long way to go yet before we have an FAI who know what they're doing...

Still - ding dong the witch is dead and all that

Vampires never die.
When his payoff is calculated he'll be bleeding us dry for some time to come.

[Closed Account]

Press released late Saturday evening, Barry Egan exclusive next week I imagine...

[sidewayspasser]

That took a worryingly long time.

Probably the negotiation of his farewell package wasn't so straightforward...

[pineapple stu]

You would hope that in the case of financial fraud, he could be dismissed without resort to a farewell package. Most people can be; it should be in your contract.

I'd worry there wasn't a huge appetite there to get rid of him.

[ForzaForth]

Very valid point made, I think, by Ryle Nugent on Newstalk this afternoon that the publication of the announcement at 11pm or so on a Saturday night itself has a reek of sulphur about it in that it was likely to have been timed to ensure that the Sunday Times who would have just gone to press couldn't cover it. Instead of a "new broom", it suggests that, like the Grim Reaper, the ghost of John Delaney still hangs heavily over Abbotstown. While I wouldn't have any time for Shane Ross, particularly in the context of sport, his continuing pressure on the FAI board is vitally important.

The figure being bandied about for John Delaney is in region of 400k in lieu of pension entitlements. While I wouldn't give a penny, his "golden handcuff" contract was supposed to be worth two million. It suggests to me that what's due to come out in the various reports will undermine Delaney completely, and that in their response, the FAI wouldn't be able to defend the continued existence of Delaney on the payroll and therefore he had to be got rid of now.

[pineapple stu]

Paul Rowan suggesting a payout of 200k on twitter - though the same point is there, that it's a lot smaller than you'd expect, and that can only mean a lot of dirt to come out.

RTÉ I think it was were suggesting other board members and/or finance department personnel (who signed off on expenses) may be in trouble yet.

We may have just come through the quiet eye of the hurricane.

[geysir]

I heard of the €400k pay off figure from the UK Times journalist on RTE. He said "from his sources".
I don't know if there will much more dirt, maybee the FAI already had enough for a dismissal case against Delaney. Should Delaney have taken the issue to a labour court or whatever, then he would have had to answer the thorny questions under cross examination whlist in the dock, where he can't claim "thats a confidential issue".

[pineapple stu]

I don't know if there will much more dirt
Well there's a report due out on 7th October; RTÉ note it's expected to be the "first of the various reports into the affairs of the FAI", although that could easily just be a case of regurgitating what we already know of course. But touch wood it might have a bit of bite.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Is it too much to suspect that the headlines of of a rugby-related nature may have motivated the decision to announce this now? On the broadsheets this morning the Delaney news was decidedly a tertiary story to various "Blossom" puns.

[jbyrne]

I heard of the €400k pay off figure from the UK Times journalist on RTE. He said "from his sources".
.

€500,000 reported in IT.
of course delaney has irish football at heart taking that amount from the cash strapped fai

[seanfhear]

€500,000 reported in IT.
of course delaney has irish football at heart taking that amount from the cash strapped fai
Delaney thinks that money is bad for Irish football , thats why he kept so much of it for himself and his cronies .

[geysir]

Included in that pay off amount is the salary since him being stood down, so that's another €1.2m+ to the wánker.
I think it's okay to call him that, not hard to prove.

[pineapple stu]

Where'd you get the 1.2m from?

30k a month since he was suspended is about 180k

[geysir]

Where'd you get the 1.2m from?

30k a month since he was suspended is about 180k

I assumed he was put out to grass on his monthly salary of €120+k as reported by the media, ad nauseum.

[pineapple stu]

His monthly salary was never 120k though?

His annual was 360k (plus his rent plus 160k from UEFA), and he was only five months "out to grass"

[Kyle_Katarn]

Thankfully he is gone, the money its taken to get rid of him is annoying but probably only a drop in the ocean compared to various legal costs, and other costs if we were to keep him or even sack him. Good riddance. Hopefully the first step in many to revamp Irish Football

[geysir]

His monthly salary was never 120k though?

His annual was 360k (plus his rent plus 160k from UEFA), and he was only five months "out to grass"
Where did you get the. 30k figure from? Delaney’s fai salary was reduced from 360k pa to 120k pa at the end of March. The Ides of Gibraltar.

[jbyrne]

€500,000 reported in IT.
of course delaney has irish football at heart taking that amount from the cash strapped fai

€350,000 being reported now with a bit more authority.
a stupid amount of money but much less than I feared it could be

[pineapple stu]

Where did you get the. 30k figure from? Delaney’s fai salary was reduced from 360k pa to 120k pa at the end of March. The Ides of Gibraltar.
Let's be pessimistic and suppose that when it's reported he was suspended on full pay, it means his original 360k.

If it's the reduced 120k, then all the better

Doesn't explain your figure of 1.2m though. 5 months at 120k pa is 50k, not 1.2m

[geysir]

Let's be pessimistic and suppose that when it's reported he was suspended on full pay, it means his original 360k.

If it's the reduced 120k, then all the better

Doesn't explain your figure of 1.2m though. 5 months at 120k pa is 50k, not 1.2m
I just made a small calculation mistake:) It was widely reported about Delaney salary reduction from €360k pa to €120k pa after the initial rumpus and a few weeks before being stood down. The supposed act of largesse had some irony.

[NeverFeltBetter]

Noise from Ministers that they want the FAI in front of the commitee again. Not sure what good it will do really.

[geysir]

The media sources inside the FAI are revealing differening payouts of €200k, €300k, €400k UK Times, topped off with €500k Irish Times.
I suppose that suggests there are many sources but only one true source or they are all having a guess (for a price).

As Stu suggests the report is coming out soon and more dirt might be revealed, if so it would put Conway in even darker shades with this extravagant pay out figure, probably 374k :) the equivalent of 3 years wages on current salary contract.

[disgruntled]

Emma has given poor John the bullet.
That didn't take long :o

[NeverFeltBetter]

Classic Healy-Rae: "I'm going to say what other people won't find popular" and proceeds to kiss JD's feet for five minutes. When its pointed out that he hasn't asked any questions, he lashes out. "You're an embarrassment" Coppinger mouths.

Missed this the other day, but Healy-Rae apolgised for his support of Delaney: https://www.thejournal.ie/michael-healy-rae-john-delaney-5262268-Nov2020/

[John83]

What a gob****e. "I didn't know." It was his ****ing job to ask, and he spent the time blowing smoke up Delaney's ass instead of following up on the red flags that had Delaney in front of him in the first place. But then, I doubt a political animal like himself operates all that differently from Delaney in the first place: patronage is everything.

[Nesta99]

Things have been a bit quiet on this front but he is still scrapping. Not getting all his own way though for whatever thats worth.

1374394888532357125

[John83]

On the topic of JD, I recall a popular terrace chant over the years. It went, "J--- D------ is a ******, is a ******." Sometimes, crowdsourced opinions are insightful.

[Bucket]

If anyone would like to say Hello, JD's in Co.Galway today

[osarusan]

The leopard never changes his spots...
A management consulting company set up by former FAI chief executive John Delaney in the UK is set to be struck off within a week for failing to file any returns.

Outperform Now, a firm dedicated to providing consulting support for sports figures, first incorporated in the UK in April 2020.

Mr Delaney, who served as the FAI’s chief executive between 2005 and 2019, has been based in the UK since exiting the association amid a cloud of controversy regarding governance standards at the association.

The 53-year-old’s new firm has been served with a compulsory gazette notice, an order for UK corporates which sees a company struck off the UK companies register, most typically for failing to file accounts or an annual confirmation statement.https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40326851.html

As an aside, another former FAI bigwig, Bernard O'Byrne, now with Basketball Ireland, is in hot water (https://www.bbc.com/sport/basketball/57752153) for posting (and then deleting) 'Black Dives Matter' after Sterling's penalty against Denmark.

FAI sure know how to select 'em!

[paul_oshea]

What do you mean a leopard never changes his spots? Failing to file a return is effectively saying you've nothing to return. It's just another way of winding up a company that's not made any money. It's fairly standard with companies house.

[osarusan]

What do you mean a leopard never changes his spots?
That he continues to be a useless incompetent *****.

[seanfhear]

The leopard never changes his spots...https://www.irishexaminer.com/news/arid-40326851.html

As an aside, another former FAI bigwig, Bernard O'Byrne, now with Basketball Ireland, is in hot water (https://www.bbc.com/sport/basketball/57752153) for posting (and then deleting) 'Black Dives Matter' after Sterling's penalty against Denmark.

FAI sure know how to select 'em!
How do such morons get in to these positions to do what ( the damage ) they do ?

[pineapple stu]

Failing to file a return is effectively saying you've nothing to return. It's just another way of winding up a company that's not made any money. It's fairly standard with companies house.
Certainly for the CRO in Ireland, that's not true at all. If you want a voluntary strike-off of a dormant company, there's a proper way to do it. After all, how would you know if the company hasn't made any money if there's no returns made?

[Trequartista20]

What Bernard O'Byrne said is shockingly offensive. Just why is he still knocking around anyway? And in such a high profile role. For whatever reason, Ireland seems to produce more than its fair share of his sort I'm afraid.

[pineapple stu]

What Bernard O'Byrne said is shockingly offensive.
Is it though? I think you'd be a bit sensitive to find that "shockingly offensive". Ill advised for sure, especially for someone of his profile in sport, but a bit of perspective would do no harm here.

[Trequartista20]

Denigrating and trivialising the BLM movement a year after the historic George Floyd event and bringing Raheem Sterling's skin colour into the equation after a footballing incident, indeed implicitly judging and evaluating Sterling on the basis of his race - seeing his race first - is, I think, deeply offensive on a multitude of different levels. Would Kane, for example, have his racial background referenced in similar circumstances by the likes of O'Byrne?

Ireland are, apparently, decades behind on this issue, as O'Byrne's attitude seems to show. He's a high-profile administrative figure. He should know better, and we should expect better.

And there's nothing wrong with being 'sensitive' to the feelings of other people on the issue of race, in my view.

[pineapple stu]

I think you're reading far too much into what was simply a silly pun, to be quite honest.

If the BLM movement survived the opportunistic looting and stealing we saw from too many (albeit a significant minority) of its protesters at the time, I think it can survive a stupid pun. People are far too quick to take offence on behalf of someone else these days (or pose irrelevant hypothetical questions - Kane didn't dive, and if someone said "Taking the Mick" or some other daft comment like that, I wouldn't give a ****e)

The idea that O'Byrne speaks for an entire country is just bizarre. And I'm not sure how you'd describe his actions if he actually had said something shockingly offensive. You know there's far, far worse things he (or anyone) could have said.

[dynamo kerry]

Denigrating and trivialising the BLM movement a year after the historic George Floyd event and bringing Raheem Sterling's skin colour into the equation after a footballing incident, indeed implicitly judging and evaluating Sterling on the basis of his race - seeing his race first - is, I think, deeply offensive on a multitude of different levels. Would Kane, for example, have his racial background referenced in similar circumstances by the likes of O'Byrne?

Ireland are, apparently, decades behind on this issue, as O'Byrne's attitude seems to show. He's a high-profile administrative figure. He should know better, and we should expect better.

And there's nothing wrong with being 'sensitive' to the feelings of other people on the issue of race, in my view.

100% agree.

[tetsujin1979]

Bernard O'Byrne's comments don't really have anything to do with Delaney, other than they both used to work in the same place.
If you want to discuss them, please use the politics/current affairs forum

[Diggs246]

Certainly for the CRO in Ireland, that's not true at all. If you want a voluntary strike-off of a dormant company, there's a proper way to do it. After all, how would you know if the company hasn't made any money if there's no returns made?

Correct and to add to your point its actually a possible disqualification offence ( 5 years )