Water-tight, those $5 million confidentiality agreements.
Former Ireland assistant coach Liam Brady has told RTE Radio One that neither he, the Irish management or player knew about the $5m ‘loan’ received by the FAI in the aftermath of Thierry Henry’s infamous handball in 2009.
As confirmed on Thursday by FAI chief executive John Delaney, the association accepted the sum of money to desist from possible legal action following their controversial defeat to Henry’s France in a World Cup 2010 Qualifier. In return, the FAI were sworn to a confidentiality agreement – part of which included non-disclosure of the payment amount.
The lump sum, according to the FAI, went towards the building and upkeep of its keystone stadiums and would have been paid back had Ireland qualified for World Cup 2014. That forlorn hope was dashed in 2013 and Giovanni Trapattoni, who Brady assisted for two years, departed as Ireland manager.
On RTE’s Morning Ireland show, today, Brady revealed that Ireland’s management and staff were kept in the dark about the pay-off.
‘It’s kind of mind-boggling isn’t it? I knew they were under pressure to compensate us somehow after the incident in November 2009 but I didn’t realise that the FAI got as much money as they did.
‘None of the staff knew about payment, none of the players knew about it,’ he told sports reporter Des Cahill.
The declaration from Brady, who served Ireland from 2008 to 2010 as a player and won 72 caps as a player, demonstrates a clear lack of communication and understanding between Trapattoni’s squad and the upper echelons of the FAI.
Henry, who handled the ball before he set up William Gallas for the winner against Ireland, has been speaking about the current bribery and racketeering scandals that have rocked FIFA and led to their former president, Sepp Blatter, to stand down.
He told Sky Sports, ‘We can be sitting here, talking about what he has done, or has not, but let’s move on with the future.
‘[Blatter] obviously, people would or would not agree… but let’s not talk about that. Let’s talk about the future… all the best to the guy that’s going to be in charge because it is going to be a difficult job.’
Theirry Henry and Ireland’s Richard Dunne after the World Cup playoff in 2009.
