Minister right to reject FAI plea: €10m bailout sought

Sports Minister Shane Ross was right to dismiss an FAI appeal for a €10m bailout. Mr Ross had a meeting with an FAI delegation on Monday and even if he wanted to be Santa Claus, always a temptation at this point in the election cycle, he dare not throw good money after bad.

That meeting was the latest in an increasingly fractious series between FAI executives and Government. It did not, however, reek of the contempt shown for the Oireachtas when former CEO John Delaney refused to answer questions at an April committee hearing.

The FAI refusal to attend another Oireachtas hearing tomorrow is hardly encouraging either. The FAI has been a dysfunctional fiefdom for years and it is impossible to blame one person for that. All executives have questions to answer, be they questions of omission or commission.

Mr Ross was careful to differentiate between supporting the FAI and supporting football. Those who really care for the sport should take this opportunity to recover lost ground.

Administrators in any sports organisation in receipt of government funding might take a moment to look in the mirror and ask if their record in defending high standards of accountability in how public funds have been used is beyond reproach.

This may be apt as it seems certain that the FAI fiasco will lead to more rigorous Government appraisals of how public funds are spent on sport. One horse may have bolted but it’s not entirely too late to close the stable door.