The circumstances surrounding the appointment of Heimir Hallgrímsson as Republic of Ireland manager, following a recruitment process conducted by the FAI’s chief football officer Marc Canham, came in for criticism from the general assembly at the association’s AGM in Stillorgan on Saturday afternoon.
Stuart Gilhooly, a solicitor representing the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland, accused the FAI of “what is effectively a lie” around Hallgrímsson’s appointment, which prompted Canham to make an unscheduled walk to the podium to defend his and the FAI’s eight-month process to replace Stephen Kenny.
“Either the general assembly is treated with respect or it is not,” said Gilhooly. “We were told last March that an appointment would be made in April. It couldn’t be made until then due to ‘contractual’ reasons around that candidate.
“Clearly that candidate did not get appointed, and a new candidate was appointed in July, which is Heimir. We were subsequently told, unequivocally, that Heimir was the first choice for the job.
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“Now, both of these things cannot be true, because Heimir was contracted to Jamaica at this time for the COPA America [in July]. I’d like to know why we why were told something what is effectively a lie?”
Before Canham took to the podium, the FAI’s interim chief executive David Courell stated Hallgrímsson was “regrettably” unveiled the same week as revelations of historic abuse against female players came to light.
According to Courell, the Icelander was offered another job. “Heimir was our primary candidate but he was also being actively being sought after by other parties, so we needed to tie him down.”
Hallgrímsson was contracted to Jamaica until after last summer’s COPA America, a tournament the team qualified for last November.
“I am only going to repeat what I said when we spoke to our media colleagues when we made the announcement,” Canham replied. “Heimir was our preferred candidate at that time. He had contractual obligations. It was regretful the comments I made when we announced John O’Shea in March as interim coach. We believed at that point in time that we would be able to get Heimir over the line.
“We believed that we would be able to persuade him to come to us in April early. It is regretful that I made those comments on behalf of the association. But Heimir was our candidate that we were referring to at that point. That is absolutely crystal clear that that was the case.”
Canham added: “I appreciate you are inferring that we were lying, but actually we weren’t. Heimir was our candidate. I made a mistake at the time by saying we thought we would have been able to appoint Heimir at that time. That was regretful.
“We made a decision that we were prepared to wait until he finished his participation at the COPA America with Jamaica.
“We had to sit tight. We believe that was the right thing to do, and we still believe that he is the right man to take the team forward.”
Courell also would not confirm or deny whether Canham has received a pay increase after being “elevated” last week from director of football to a new position as chief football officer.
Gilhooly responded: “It is not respectful to not answer the question I just asked, which is why was there effectively lies told around the appointment. Marc has not answered that question at all. The two things cannot be true at the same time.
“The FAI, for years, were regarded with suspicion and distrust, and we want this FAI to be a respected brand again, and I don’t turn on the radio or read the newspaper and have people laughing at us, because they know it is not true as to what happened.”
The FAI also outlined to the AGM “revised” plans to receive some of the €802 million remaining in the Brexit Adjustment Fund, which the Irish Government received from the EU, to help fund an academy system across all 20 League of Ireland clubs. Currently, there is only 10 full-time staff working in 24 academies around the country.
On the historic allegations of unwanted or inappropriate sexual advances by three male coaches towards female players, Courell added: “Our brand and culture have slipped back, regrettably. Unfortunately, our reputation has been challenged further following revelations from the brave women who came forward to share their experiences.
“I like to think we approached this proactively and as positively as we can in the situation.”
The general assembly, of which only 84 of 138 members attended the AGM, returned independent directors Robert Watt and Packie Bonner, while Caroline Rhatigan replaced Niamh O’Mahony on the FAI board.
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