Irish soccer chiefs disclosed documentary evidence on Friday of how FIFA paid millions to buy Ireland’s silence on the handball that cost the Irish a chance to reach the 2010 World Cup.
The documents, published after the Football Association of Ireland sustained a daylong barrage of international criticism over its decision to take the confidential payment, detail a series of meetings in Switzerland involving FAI and FIFA chiefs, including president Sepp Blatter. These followed Ireland’s 2-1 loss on aggregate to France in November 2009, a result partly achieved by an unpunished Thierry Henry handball that produced France’s playoff-clinching goal.
The self-described “moral compensation” contract, signed Jan. 15, 2010, by senior FAI and FIFA officials in Zurich, guaranteed the FAI immediate delivery of 5 million euros (then $7.13 million) on strict condition Irish officials never revealed existence of the deal. The payment was initially labeled a loan, but the contact included no terms for repayment, and the FAI never did pay it back.
The FAI also published letters showing the full 5 million euros entering the association’s Dublin bank accounts five days later and being quickly deployed to reduce the association’s debts connected to a new national stadium completed in 2010.
The signed contract committed the FAI “to waive any and all claims against FIFA” in exchange for cash, which included a separate $400,000 payment for an unrelated Irish soccer project, a new disclosure in Friday’s documents. The contract specified that the FAI would “irrevocably and unconditionally accept the referee’s decision” and could no longer appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport in lausanne, Switzerland.
In an extensive section designed to ensure secrecy, the contract specified that FAI officials could not publicize its existence “without any limits in scope or time.”
However, FAI chief executive John Delaney appeared to break that clause by confirming to Irish media last month that FIFA gave his organization an unspecified compensation payment. Delaney then offered more detail in a Thursday interview, and FIFA responded by confirming its payment to the FAI.
The FAI in a statement said Blatter also offered a face-to-face apology to its negotiators at a Swiss meeting three days before the contract was struck. He had infuriated Irish soccer officials weeks earlier by revealing, to the laughter of FIFA delegates, that Ireland was trying to be entered as the 33rd qualifying team in South Africa.
Friday’s disclosures came hours after Ireland’s national team prepared for a friendly home match Sunday against England. Roy Keane, one of Ireland’s greatest players and now an assistant national coach, said his team had “hardly spoken about” the deal.
But veterans of the 2009 squad said they were flabbergasted and annoyed to learn that FAI leaders traded principle for confidential cash.
“It wasn’t a loan. It was hush money to get rid of John Delaney and the FAI,” said Keith Andrews, Ireland’s starting defensive midfielder. He described his reaction to the deal as a mixture of “disbelief and disgust.”
The payment was first made public last year in an Irish newspaper, but attracted little attention. Nor did it spark overseas interest when Delaney last month spoke about the deal for the first time during an interview about the unfolding FIFA corruption scandal surrounding Blatter
Many in Ireland support that sentiment, noting Delaney's original 2009 pledge following the handball to seek justice.