FAI and players urged to sue FIFA

THE FAI have been urged to sue FIFA for negligence and loss of earnings after Thierry Henry’s handball denied Ireland a place in next summer’s World Cup.

Senator and civil lawyer Lisa McDonald yesterday called on both the Irish football team and the FAI to issue a writ against the sport’s governing body, FIFA.

Ms McDonald said virtues such as decency and integrity in FIFA and France’s national football team have been affected by dishonesty and the legal recourse was now the only option.

“In ruling out the possibility of a replay and by having reckless disregard for blatant video footage of the infamous handball incident by Thierry Henry, FIFA’s negligent conduct has caused actionable damage to the Irish football team. A lawsuit brought by the Irish players and the Football Association of Ireland should now be issued,” she said.

Ms McDonald, a Seanad spokeswoman on justice and law reform, said the handball had now been recognised by the FIFA commissioner, the referee observer and the match officials as well as by Henry himself.

“If the governing body cannot find a way to offer Ireland a replay for a glaring technical error, then compensatory damages for loss of earnings will have to be sought by way of a lawsuit.”

“In calculating the loss of earnings to the Irish team in this instance, we would also need to take into account any possible promotions and sponsorship salary increases from which any claimant may have benefited from during a World Cup campaign,” she said.

Economist with Bloxhams Alan McQuaid also said the FAI should sue for potential loss of earnings, but said it was difficult to calculate the loss to the economy due to Ireland’s failure to qualify.

“I hope the FAI sue for the loss of potential income. I would think the embarrassment levels are pretty high in France.”

“It’s difficult to assess the impact it would have had on the economy had they qualified. It would have lifted spirits and that would have increased consumer spending in the run up to Christmas and for the summer also.”

“However, the downside is that, had we qualified, it is likely that people would have saved to travel to South Africa and spent their money over there, taking money out of the Irish economy,” he said.

A spokesperson for the FAI declined to comment on the loss of earnings as a result of Wednesday nights result. However, it is estimated it could run into tens of millions.