What the FAI thinks of progressive clubs:

[Macy]

What they are doing is sickening and I know several regular International matchgoers who will not attend any more Ireland games while the Delaney Dictatorship is in place.

Only now, after this?

[Dodge]

So the FAI enter into an agreement with a third party to negotiate contracts on their behalf with foreign clubs,hardly shock horror stuff its common place around the world.

I'd be surprised if there's another league in the world that has such an agreement

A league of Ireland club wishing to host such a friendly should first contact the FAI ,yet again no shock horror its the pro way to do it and is common place around the world.

YOu can't seriously believe that if Barcelona want to play Boca Juniors in the Nou Camp, they get the Spanish FA to organise it?

Limrick dont have a leg to stand on here chaps and lets face it nobody gave a fiddlers about Limrick until it became an excuse to have a pop at the FAI.As for the ever increasing concerned parties in Limrick ,where the hell were you before this came to light?

Does it matter? if the FAI did the decent thing, its not an issue for anyone

[Jofspring]

So the FAI enter into an agreement with a third party to negotiate contracts on their behalf with foreign clubs,hardly shock horror stuff its common place around the world.A league of Ireland club wishing to host such a friendly should first contact the FAI ,yet again no shock horror its the pro way to do it and is common place around the world.Limrick dont have a leg to stand on here chaps and lets face it nobody gave a fiddlers about Limrick until it became an excuse to have a pop at the FAI.As for the ever increasing concerned parties in Limrick ,where the hell were you before this came to light?

I know i'm being pedantic here but please at least learn how to spell "Limerick" before you make a comment about them.

Its great to see the clubs starting to get behind each other. Regardless of who the club is that is trying to get a friendly or who it is against, i'm pretty sure the FAI cannot just go away and sign agreements with a third party, not notify the clubs, and then turn around and tell the press all the clubs have known about these agreements the whole time when they did not.

[Lim till i die]

Clubs pulling together?

That was late last night.

I'm sure there was many a long knife produced in Abbotstown in the meantime. Have zero faith in the clubs.

While neither the FAI nor Limerick have been forthcoming with enough information for me to make a valid judgement, I feel I have some sympathy for the FAI's argument.

I think it is a perfectly reasonable argument that if a high-profile friendly is to come to Ireland, that the best outcome for the league as a whole is for it to take place in a large venue owned by the footballing authorities in the country. A friendly at Thomond Park would, let's face it, result in a large proportion of the profits being handed over to Munster Rugby - we've all seen how the GAA chanced their arm with soccer and rugby fixtures over the past few years, and Kentaro basically told them where to shove their stadium when it came to negotiations over the Brazil friendly. I would expect Munster Rugby to drive a similarly hard bargain as the only viable stadium in Limerick.

"I don't really know enough to comment but nevertheless am going to make sweeping assumptions about the financial arrangements"

[Rasputin]

After watching Gavin on MNS I saw what I expected, just a whole load of waffle and question dodgning where he can rhyme off all the great things the FAI have done for the LOI and for Limerick while continuously avoiding the elephant in the room.
Fair play to Con for asking a few hard questions but we need a Paxmanesque style interviewer to nail that snake to the wall.
Get Vincent Browne on with the facts and he will turn their putrid bile of concotions, lies and disingenous comments into the sword they fall on.
Im delighted and indeed proud the clubs are standing up to this ineptitude and down right authoritarianism by the FAI, tbh I didnt expect it.
The b@stards should be nailed to the wall.
My biggest dissapointment with the MNS Limerick coverge last night was Rico's comments.
After that I have lost all respect for the man, its sad to see how cheaply he sold himself out.
Compare and contrast his comments with Fenlon who's stock has really raised in my book.

[northwestexile]

For anybody thats interested here is a link to the Kentaro website where it states
Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland have signed a long-term agreement with Kentaro, who will also organise glamour friendly matches of Giovanni Trapattoni´s men against Brazil and Argentina in 2010.
I would make a fair guess that this is the third party that the FAI are talking about.
http://www.kentarogroup.com/index.php?id=35

It seems totally reasonable to me that the FAI sign an agreement with a sports management agency to organise friendly games in order to maximise the profits from any such games. It also seems totally reasonable the such a company would request a clause in any contract signed that any games the FAI wish to organise (and I would take it that also includes the clubs involved in the league the FAI administer) over a certain capacity would have to be organised through them otherwise whats the point in signing an agreement.

[seand]

For anybody thats interested here is a link to the Kentaro website where it states
Republic of Ireland

The Republic of Ireland have signed a long-term agreement with Kentaro, who will also organise glamour friendly matches of Giovanni Trapattoni´s men against Brazil and Argentina in 2010.
I would make a fair guess that this is the third party that the FAI are talking about.
http://www.kentarogroup.com/index.php?id=35

It seems totally reasonable to me that the FAI sign an agreement with a sports management agency to organise friendly games in order to maximise the profits from any such games. It also seems totally reasonable the such a company would request a clause in any contract signed that any games the FAI wish to organise (and I would take it that also includes the clubs involved in the league the FAI administer) over a certain capacity would have to be organised through them otherwise whats the point in signing an agreement.

Interesting post, but the point about Limerick is that it's LIMERICK doing the organising of a game invovling Limerick, not the FAI organising a game involving Ireland or some sort of Ireland select XI. The point in signing an ageement (for the agency) is they get exclusive control of Ireland/Ireland XI friendlies, not every bloody friendly in the country!

[osarusan]

It seems totally reasonable to me that the FAI sign an agreement with a sports management agency to organise friendly games in order to maximise the profits from any such games. It also seems totally reasonable the such a company would request a clause in any contract signed that any games the FAI wish to organise (and I would take it that also includes the clubs involved in the league the FAI administer) over a certain capacity would have to be organised through them otherwise whats the point in signing an agreement.

Does it seem 'totally reasonable' to you that the FAI, having made this deal with a third party, would not tell clubs about it, would not reveal the name of the third party, and , when a club who is unaware of the deal applies for a friendly which the deal does not allow, does it seem reasonable to you that the FAI would give only one reason in their official reply, that reason being that the friendly clashes with other LOI games on the same night, without mentioning the existence of or conditions of the deal with the third party?

[Dodge]

And in today's Irish Times the FAI state that this 3rd party are not involved in the Man Utd game. So I'm at a loss to see how that's outside the scope of the agreement but Limerick isn't

only thing I an think of is that each club is listed individually but not LOI selections. Would seem far fetched it it weren't the FAI

[pineapple stu]

only thing I an think of is that each club is listed individually but not LOI selections.

In which case, they can authorise a Limerick XI.

Also, you can add to the "totally unreasonable" heading the fact that the FAI have lied about their stance on numerous times already (saying clubs were informed and then saying they weren't; changing the critical attendance from 20000 to 15000 and so forth)

[MariborKev]

Yeah,

Just finished the article and agree with the points that Stu and Dodge are making. What are we running at now, maybe 4x as much coverage of this fiasco as the "good news" over the United friendly?

[Dodge]

What are trying to say Kev, that when the game gets the go ahead, the FAI and Limerick will prclaim themselves marketing geniuses?

[A N Mouse]

Back to the small-mindedness and self serving pettiness.

Am I right in thinking that if Limerick take legal action against the fai, then fifa would suspend the fai? As, Chile, I think it was (one of the south americans), were threatened with being thrown out of the world cup if on of their clubs proceeded with an action.

That would some f u to delaney and co

[KevB76]

A friendly at Thomond Park would, let's face it, result in a large proportion of the profits being handed over to Munster Rugby

Munster rugby dont own or run Thomond Park

[Dodge]

The English FA weren't punished for all the English football cases brought to court (West Ham, Tevez etc etc)

I think there's FIFA sanctions if the government interfere with the football body though

[pineapple stu]

Like FIFA'd suspend England anyway.

[KevB76]

I think it is a perfectly reasonable argument that if a high-profile friendly is to come to Ireland, that the best outcome for the league as a whole is for it to take place in a large venue owned by the footballing authorities in the country.

But from the point of view of an Irish football fan, I don't really see how Barcelona playing Limerick at Thomond would be of any great benefit to the domestic game and would much rather to see Barca stage a fixture in the Aviva where twice as many fans could get to see the best team in the world.

The FAI / Aviva were never going to host Barcelona on July 31st 2010, so your point is irrelevant.

[Macy]

only thing I an think of is that each club is listed individually but not LOI selections. Would seem far fetched it it weren't the FAI

Or the agreement is something to do with using Lansdowne. If there is an agreement....

[WoodquayBoy]

Am I right in thinking that if Limerick take legal action against the fai, then fifa would suspend the fai? As, Chile, I think it was (one of the south americans), were threatened with being thrown out of the world cup if on of their clubs proceeded with an action.

They haven't taken action against us before over failings at 'our'* clibs like Portsmouth, Southampton and Luton, so why would they now?
*well, according to Trapattoni, they are our clubs as he won't consider LOI players

[pineapple stu]

This is about clubs sueing their national association though, not over clubs being run badly.

Can't find anything on why a national association can be suspended. El Salvador got suspended last week, Chile and Iraq got threatened in the last few months and various other countries (Peru, Greece, Kenya) have been suspended too.