Sport Ireland seeking “urgent clarification” from FAI on €100,000 loan

Sport Ireland say that it is seeking urgent clarification from the FAI regarding a €100,000 loan to the organisation by its Chief Executive, John Delaney, including the circumstances of the loan and its repayment.

In a statement issued on Tuesday night, Sport Ireland requested an explanation for the bridging loan, which was made in 2017. "Sport Ireland has written to the President of the Football Association of Ireland seeking urgent clarification from the Board of the FAI on media reports concerning a loan to the organisation by its Chief Executive, including the circumstances of the loan and its repayment,” the statement read. "Sport Ireland was not notified at any stage in 2017 about any apparent material deterioration in the FAI’s financial position, as per Sport Ireland’s Terms and Conditions of Grant Approval, and has sought additional clarification in relation to this matter." Late on Saturday night, the FAI confirmed the receipt of a cheque of €100,000 from the association's CEO in April of 2017, with Delaney commenting in that statement: "I am aware of stories circulating around this loan dating back to 2017. "I confirm that I made a once-off bridging loan to the association to aid a very short-term cash flow issue. "This is the only occasion on which I provided the association with a short-term loan." On Sunday, Delaney dedicated a portion of a different statement to discuss the loan that he made to the Association to deal with a short-term cash flow issue. This loan was repaid in full by the FAI to Delaney in June that year.

That statement read: “I have already commented on the reasons behind the loan. I acted in the best interests of the Association at a time when immediate funding was needed. “This loan had no impact on the full financial position or performance of the Association for the year. It was a matter of timing. “The monies received from Euro 2016 were utilised in that year’s budgets as outlined in the financial report to the 2017 AGM. “As CEO, I hold regular meeting with our Director of Finance regarding the state of our finances and all items arising are conveyed to our Board at our monthly meetings. “This was the case in 2017 when I acted in good faith for the benefit of the FAI and will continue to do so.”

Tonight, the FAI have responded to the request from Sport Ireland saying they are "currently preparing a reply" and will "respond at the earliest opportunity".