THE FOOTBALL ASSOCIATION of Ireland (FAI) has initiated legal proceedings against its former auditors Deloitte.

In papers filed yesterday at the High Court by solicitors Beale and Company on behalf of the FAI, the association launched action against three Deloitte companies.

Deloitte last year resigned as auditors of the FAI after 23 years, and claimed at last year’s FAI annual general meeting that the company had been misled by the FAI’s former directors regarding matters at the association. 

The firm also reported the FAI for allegedly breaking company law to the Companies Registration Office last year, alleging that the association’s account were not being properly kept. 

It declared that the FAI “is contravening section 281 and section 282 of the Companies Act 2014″. 

Section 281 of the Act says that “adequate accounting records” should be kept, while section 282 describes what those accounts should look like. 

Deloitte accused the FAI of not keeping proper records after details emerged of a €100,000 bridging loan given by former CEO John Delaney to his employers in 2017. The loan, repaid later that year, was concealed from most of the board and omitted from the annual accounts.

Following a tumultuous 2019, the FAI’s dire financial situation necessitated a bailout from the government earlier this year. The rescue package provided by the government amounted to €19.23 million.

Comments are closed for legal reasons

With reporting from Gavin Cooney