Eileen Gleeson says FAI told her not to attend Oireachtas hearing

Eileen Gleeson has said that a “directive” from the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) told her that it would be “wholly inappropriate” to attend Wednesday’s hearing of the joint Oireachtas committee on sport.

The former Republic of Ireland head coach, who is currently taking legal action against the association, had “repeatedly expressed a desire to attend” the hearing as an FAI employee or in a personal capacity, she informed the committee on Monday afternoon.

However, Gleeson says she received a “directive” from the FAI people and culture director explaining that it would be “wholly inappropriate for you [Gleeson] to attend the committee in any capacity in circumstances where the FAI will not be in attendance”.

The FAI chief executive David Courell confirmed recently that a “very robust” defence was being prepared by the association against legal action being taken by Gleeson on the grounds of gender discrimination. Despite the legal case being taken against her employer, Gleeson was recently named as the association’s head of football strategic insights and planning.

An initial Oireachtas hearing to discuss safeguarding procedures with the FAI was set for July, but the association withdrew after expressing concerns around possible questions that could prejudice an ongoing Garda investigation into alleged abuse in the 1990s by a male coach of female players.

On Friday, Courell wrote to the committee to decline the invitation for a second time.

“I think the scope of the hearing here is so broad, that they should really reconsider their position, accept the invitation and engage,” the Minister for Sport Patrick O’Donovan told RTÉ on Monday morning.

The Minister also said that a situation cannot arise where the Government is funding a sporting body that will not engage with the Oireachtas.

“If there are particular issues around courts and garda investigations, there are mechanisms available to them to alert the chairman that there are certain things that they can’t answer,” added the Minister.

The FAI has also withheld files requested by the committee chaired by former Labour leader Alan Kelly. Kelly and other members of the committee have sought to assuage FAI concerns around prejudicing the Garda investigation.

“What the FAI are suggesting is alarming as they have called into question our integrity as a committee,” said Senator Evanne Ní Chuilinn. “We gave assurances that we would not discuss individual cases.

“It is also alarming that not only have the FAI declined additional witnesses from attending, they have withdrawn from the process entirely.”

An FAI spokesperson said: “Following the Football Association of Ireland’s decision to request a deferral for its invitation to the session with the Joint Committee on Arts, Media, Communications, Culture and Sport until the completion of criminal investigations, the same correspondence was sent to each of the additional invitees to explain that their participation would not be necessary in the circumstances where the Association would not be in attendance.”

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