So that’s Monday nearly wrapped up. Here’s some of the stories we published on irishexaminer.com today which we hope will help you make sense of it all this evening.

John Delaney has offered to voluntarily step down from his role as Executive Vice-President with immediate effect pending the completion of an independent investigation by the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) into issues of concern to the Board.

Pressure is likely to mount on the FAI following further revelations about the organisation's finances.

Taoiseach Leo Varadkar has said an “investigation” is needed into how the Football Association of Ireland is spending taxpayers’ money amid ongoing concerns over the transparency of the soccer group.

Something has to change.

Independent Senator Rónán Mullen has called for a State inquiry into the FAI's financial situation following former CEO's John Delaney's refusal to answer questions about a €100,000 loan he gave the organisation.

The FAI may feel that Wednesday's Oireachtas Committee appearance was a victory, but the questions that remain will prove to be an own goal in time if they are not answered. Here are the issues that remain, despite the lengthy exchanges in Committee Room 4 of Leinster House, writes Joe Leogue.

The FAI’s largest sponsor has issued a warning over the association’s corporate governance amid controversy over its finances.

They came to disrobe the emperor. They wanted to see the whites of his eyes, how he would manage under their steely gaze.

Kerry TD Michael Healy Rae has heaped praise on John Delaney, saying the only thing the former FAI CEO is guilty of is "trying to help an association in the best way you saw fit at that time".

A delegation from the FAI, including former chief executive John Delaney, is appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on Transport, Tourism and Sport today.

The Oireachtas Sport Committee is meeting a corporate governance expert for guidance this afternoon, ahead of questioning former FAI CEO John Delaney.

Former Ireland international Kevin Doyle has said that it’s “worrying” that the FAI controversy is distracting attention from positive developments on the field for Irish football.

The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) has admitted to breaking the rules for getting State funding by not notifying Sport Ireland of the €100,000 loan from its former CEO John Delaney.

Former FAI CEO John Delaney has said that his new position in the governing body was created due to the impossible workload.

Sports Minister Shane Ross says he expects to receive Sport Ireland's report on the Football Association of Ireland and governance concerns later this week.

TDs are to submit their lines of questioning to the FAI and John Delaney ahead of their appearance before the Oireachtas Sports Committee over governance concerns later this month.

The Football Association of Ireland has not answered questions from the Oireachtas Sports Committee about governance plans in the wake of revelations over John Delaney and the sporting body's finances.

FAI workers have joined the call for clarification of the association’s financial arrangements with former chief executive John Delaney and the accountability of the board.

A former chief executive of the FAI, Fran Rooney, says that many of the people involved in running the association have “gone beyond their sell-by date.”

An invitation from the FAI to members of the Oireachtas Committee on Sport to attend a social occasion, days before the FAI was due to be grilled on its finances, has been described as “wholly inappropriate”.

The FAI have said they will respond to Sport Ireland at the "earliest opportunity" after being asked about a 2017 'bridging loan'.

The FAI has a responsibility to adhere to government protocols, he told RTE radio’s Morning Ireland.

Why a national sporting body needed a €100,000 bridging loan from its chief executive, when it received in the region of €50m state funding over a 10-year period, is a key question John Delaney must answer when he appears before an Oireachtas committee.

FAI chief John Delaney says that lessons have been learned from the collapse of the Vantage Club ticket scheme just over a decade ago and described the latest edition of their Club Ireland package, which has been launched at the Aviva Stadium, as “the best value premium level scheme in Irish sport”.

The FAI is “open to all ideas” about the future of the League of Ireland says CEO John Delaney.

Mick McCarthy has agreed a deal with the FAI to take up the role of Ireland manager for the second time.

The FAI will hold formal talks in the coming days with Mick McCarthy who remains the odds-on favourite to reprise his role as Ireland manager.

Martin O’Neill wasn’t the only one to rein in his enthusiasm when the Nations League was thrust upon us this year but he paid a bigger price for his indifference to it than most.

Keith Andrews believes Mick McCarthy is the right man to take over from Martin O’Neill as Ireland manager.

Having scaled the highs of Lille, and Long versus the Germans, and having sunk to the lows of Denmark and a tepid Nations League campaign, the O’Neill-Keane era has come to an end “by mutual agreement”.

Roy Keane always insisted that he would never become a television pundit.

There was a brief break from the script during the announcement of a joint-bid by the FAI and IFA for the 2023 U21 Euros hosting when the North’s chief executive touched on the importance of full houses to associations.

With Martin O’Neill’s exit and a new appointment apparently imminent as Ireland manager, it looks as if the FAI are hoping for a quick-fix to boost chances of qualifying for the Euro 2020 finals which will be part-hosted in Dublin, says Liam Brady.

In what would make for an unusually quick running of the succession stakes, the FAI intend to have a new Ireland manager installed in time for the Euro 2020 draw in Dublin on Sunday week, December 2.

If he turned on the telly in the team hotel ahead of the Republic of Ireland’s friendly against Northern Ireland last Thursday, Séamus Coleman might have taken inspiration from watching Theresa May defend her Brexit deal in the House of Commons.

John Delaney has strongly hinted that Croke Park could have a role to play in the bid to host games at the 2030 World Cup.

John Delaney has said that the FAI will debate its policy on sponsorship by gambling firms in the autumn.

John Delaney has strongly indicated that his preference to clear the FAI’s €29m stadium debt by 2020 will today be rubberstamped by the association’s board.

It’s the riddle that won’t go away and Football Association of Ireland chief executive John Delaney added further mystique to their debt-free plans by stopping short of confirming whether they’d still be in the red after 2020.

The motion tabled in the House of Commons, in London, by Jim Shannon, a DUP MP, is a straightforward one, writes Paul Rouse.

John Delaney has insisted Martin O’Neill is “100% committed” to the Ireland job but he doesn’t expect speculation about the manager’s position to end when he signs a new contract next week.

While stating he thinks it’s “logical” to hold off on negotiations with Martin O’Neill until the road to Russia has run its course, John Delaney has declined to specify whether a new contract offer for the manager is actually dependent on Ireland qualifying for the 2018 World Cup Finals.

The FAI have been looking into three games since May.