| John Delaney | |
|---|---|
| Born | Waterford, Ireland |
| Nationality | Irish |
| Known for | CEO of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) |
| Home town | Tipperary, Ireland |
| Salary | €800,000 |
John Delaney is the current chief executive of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI).
His father Joe was previously FAI treasurer. Delaney became acting chief executive of the FAI in December 2004 and took up the role full-time in March 2005.[1] In November 2006, his contract was extended to 2012.[1] In July 2010, the FAI's board of directors agreed to extend his contract once again, until 2015.[2] He currently earns €430,000 a year, over 4 times what the current league of Ireland champions will receive.[3][4]
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John Delaney became the youngest treasurer in FAI history in 2001.[5] He rose to prominence in the wake of the 2002 Keano Saipan saga, having emerged as the FAI's public figurehead during the affair.[2] He became acting chief executive of the organisation in December 2004, after Fran Rooney's acrimonious departure.[5][6]
During his tenure Delaney has been the subject of criticism for his management of the appointment and eventual dismissal of former senior international team manager Steve Staunton. Following the non-renewal of Brian Kerr's contract in 2006, Delaney said he would seek to appoint a "world-class manager" to replace him. Unfortunately, he eventually appointed Staunton, who was Ireland's record caps holder but whose management experience consisted only of a spell coaching Walsall defenders. After a 1–1 draw in a European Championship qualifier at home to Cyprus (which ended the team's hopes of qualifying, and turned out to be Staunton's last game in charge), RTÉ reported that “rather than give Staunton his public support, Delaney instead appeared to attempt to wriggle free of the blame that has been attached to him for appointing a boss with no previous managerial experience. Delaney said, ‘It was very clear that three people were involved when Steve was appointed. It was a sub-committee of the FAI of three people who made the appointment of the management team.”
Criticism was levelled at Delaney as a result of the financial issues surrounding the ticketing for the new Landsdowne Road. The FAI turned down the opportunity to sell the tickets to a ticketing agency, wishing to manage the ticketing themselves. However, with the country heading towards recession, corporate tickets such as the Vantage club were seen as grossly overpriced and sales were sluggish. In response, the FAI forced their affiliated clubs, at senior and junior level, to purchase tickets, with the aim of having the tickets raffled off.
Further criticism was to follow when the FAI refused to sanction friendly between Limerick and Barcelona in Limerick's Thomond Park. Although the FAI had initially stated that the game would not be sanctioned as it was scheduled for the same day as competitive domestic league games, once it was pointed out that similar friendlies had been approved in the past, the FAI then stated that they had signed an agreement with a third party which prohibited them from sanctioning friendlies in stadia with a capacity greater than 20,000. when asked at a press conference whether if would be acceptable for Limerick to cap the attendance at 19,990, FAI PR officer Peter Sherrard admitted he was not sure, then later informed the sceptical press that the limit was in fact 15,000. John Delaney's admission on Irish radio that the decision not to sanction the friendly was 'all about money' was met with much derision.
When FIFA offered Ireland a Fair Play Award following Thierry Henry's disgace in Paris, Delaney respectfully declined and said FIFA President Sepp Blatter was "an embarrassment to himself and an embarrassment to FIFA".[7]
Further deterioration in his mental state became apparent towards the end or Ireland's successful Euro 2012 qualifying campaign. Following the famous 0-0 draw in Moscow, which many have dubbed "The Miracle of Moscow", he was seen to run around the Luzhniki stadium celebrating, and at one point even going so far as to removie his neck tie and throw it into a crowd of Irish supporters, as if he believed he were a rockstar. At the draw for the playoff phase of qualification for Euro 2012, Ireland drew Estonia, the lowest ranked team in the draw. Delaney was caught on camera laughing with glee at the prospect, insulting all Estonian soccer fans. Further to that, following Ireland's 1st leg playoff victory in Estonia by 4 goals to nil, he gestured to the Irish support that they should join him for an alcoholic beverage later that night, in the sad delusion that Irish fans actually like him. The cheek of him.