Pauw hits out at FAI disrespect and disregard 

Vera Pauw's explosive statement says "trust broke down" between her and certain people within the FAI.

TRUST BROKE DOWN: Vera Pauw claims she was undermined and disrespected by the FAI during the Women's World Cup and says the decision not to renew her contract as Ireland manager was based on a "flawed" post-World Cup review with an outcome that was "pre-determined". Pic: Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile

Vera Pauw claims she was undermined and disrespected by the FAI during the Women's World Cup and says the decision not to renew her contract as Ireland manager was based on a "flawed" post-World Cup review with an outcome that was "pre-determined".

Commenting for the first time since her four-year spell in charge of Ireland came to an end earlier this week, Pauw's explosive statement says "trust broke down" between her and certain people within the FAI. This, Pauw claims, made her work with the Irish team "very challenging".

"My position became very challenging when executives in the FAI, not technical football coaches, effectively took my seat and spoke to staff members and players regarding their roles in the team before and after the World Cup. My advice - coming from my knowledge and experience - was often disregarded and not respected. In my opinion, no head coach in the world would accept interference of the executives in technical football affairs."

The FAI's director of football, Marc Canham, led a post-tournament review based on feedback from Pauw, her staff and the Ireland players. 

"I believe that the review process which the Association has carried out was flawed," Pauw's statement adds, "and that the outcome was pre-determined. Indeed, some discussions were held with players and staff before and during the World Cup which undermined my position and had an impact on our teambuilding process."

The FAI will not comment on Pauw's statement until CEO Jonathan Hill carries out a media briefing on the World Cup review following the upcoming men's international games.

The experienced Dutch coach also accused the association of reneging on a "promised" new contract.

"I said before the World Cup that I was extremely happy in Ireland and that it was my desire to continue in my role. I entered into discussions with the FAI to extend my contract back in early March and was confident that this process could be concluded quickly. 

"At that time I asked Ciarán Medlar to assist me and the process duly began. The FAI also expressed their commitment to this outcome and worked with my representative to bring this to a conclusion. I requested that their decision, whatever that may be, would be finalised at the very latest before we went to Australia.

"Despite committing to issuing an offer to me, the FAI re-considered their stated position and I never received the promised offer. I parked the contract discussions while we were in Australia, as my sole focus was the team and the competition."

Pauw traced her turn in fortunes to an article in The Athletic covering allegations of misconduct against her during her time as coach of Houston Dash. Pauw has consistently denied all allegations, but there was disquiet within the FAI at the Athletic's claims that it was Pauw herself who approached the publication inviting them to revive the story. Pauw denies she did so. 

Pauw writes. "Following the article which appeared in The Athletic at the start of July, which included allegations I absolutely refute, I believe the FAI made some major mistakes by directly overruling the tasks of the coach."

While Pauw appeared to have lost the support of the senior Irish players by the end of the World Cup campaign, with none of them willing to go on the record to advocate for her continuing in the job, Pauw makes no reference to supposed 'player power' in her statement.

"I have had the opportunity to work with excellent colleagues and players during that time and have truly loved the experiences we have had together and what we have achieved over that time. To have qualified for our first World Cup was a true reflection of our progress and was an historic achievement shared by us all. I am so proud of our campaign, from our first qualifying game through to our final match at the World Cup finals. It is hopefully only the start of much more to come.

She adds: "This team will only grow. Better structures are now in place, facilities have improved, stability is secured and the players are ready to face any challenge. I am confident that women’s football in Ireland will go from strength to strength."

She also pays tribute to Ireland fans and people for their support during her reign.

"The Irish people have been so welcoming and supportive of me from the day I arrived here, and I have been very happy and always felt extremely safe in Ireland. I will never forget the warmth the Irish people have shown towards me and a part of me will always feel Irish from here on! To have been asked to be the Grand Marshall at the St Patrick’s Day parade earlier this year was such an honour for me and will remain a highlight of my life." 

Ireland senior men's manager Stephen Kenny revealed he spoke to Pauw on Thursday ahead of the release of her statement.

Kenny said: "Vera’s legacy is that Ireland qualified for the World Cup and it’s a great achievement and she did a terrific job as Ireland manager.

“I had a good relationship (with her), I spoke to her after she came back from Australia, she actually rang me this morning and I spoke to her this morning.

“It wasn’t the ending she wanted, she can be very proud of her achievements as manager of the women’s team and she did a terrific job.”