RECENT CASE
FAI responded well to abuse allegations – but Vera Pauw saga suggests reform needed around internal practices
The FAI's recent history shows it still has a lot of work to do around its player protection policies
AS USUAL, the Sports Campus was a hive of activity yesterday.
Driving up the long road, what looked like a procession of ants emerged from the National Indoor Arena.
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They were, in fact, kids from Sport Ireland’s summer camps, presumably walking towards the National Aquatic Centre.
The blistering sunshine meant the hi-vis vests were hardly needed for their primary purpose but, instead, as a means of identification as they walked two abreast alongside the requisite number of adults.
It was a subtle reminder of the extent to which practises have changed over the years.
It is a far cry from the days when any number of kids were thrown in the boot of a car as the quickest way to get them from A to B.
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Turning right and then left into the FAI, there came a much more forceful jolt to outline how the past is a foreign country.
It is hard to imagine that it was just the good weather which brought the FAI briefing outdoors.
Instead of using the media conference room a few strides to their right, interim CEO David Courell and people and culture director Aoife Rafferty stood side by side at a lectern.
The setting lent itself to an air of authority as the association fronted up to a shameful past when the term ‘player protection’ may as well have referred to a shinpad.
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In both tone and content, the pair struck the right note in dealing with the fallout from the allegations of unwanted and inappropriate sexual advances from Eamonn Collins and Mick Cooke in the 1990s.
They came from players on the female-only FÁS football course in Leixlip for which Collins was the head coach and the senior international squad when Cooke was Ireland manager.
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Both men emphatically and unreservedly deny the claims and the allegations of improper conduct.
Courell and Rafferty may have been nowhere near the FAI when the alleged incidents are said to have taken place.
But, as senior officers of an association which was ultimately responsible for the safety of football players, accountability was important.
And, as an initial response to historical allegations, it did better than most institutions have done in similar situations, even if the question over whether it was indemnified against potential lawsuits was dodged.
Directly addressing the women who spoke out against the men in a joint RTÉ/Sunday Independent investigation, Courell said: “We are sorry for what you had to endure.
“We are sorry that the modern practises and reporting structures that we now have in place were not there for you when you needed them.”
Rafferty added: “I’m truly sorry that anyone involved in Irish football would ever feel unsafe.”
This was the public response but, by all accounts, since being made aware of the allegations earlier this year, the FAI has reacted both decisively and empathetically.
The men involved were handed stand-down orders with Cooke in charge of DCU’s women’s team at the time he received his.
The association also sought to meet with the former players whose testimony Courell described as being ‘harrowing’.
On foot of that, professional support has been made available for those affected.
A report was made to the Child And Family Agency TÚSLA and guidance was also sought from An Garda Síochána.
Precautionary measures were put in place to protect current players.
A Safeguarding Awareness Campaign, ‘Play It Right’, was launched to offer guidance and support to anyone involved in Irish football.
An independent helpline — Raise a Concern — was set up so confidential disclosures can be made.
It has handled six submissions since it was established but none was deemed to be of a serious nature.
The association also reported it had liaised with the Professional Footballers’ Association of Ireland, Government, Sport Ireland and continues to engage with An Garda Síochána and TÚSLA in relation to these matters.
STARK CONTRAST
The reaction stands in stark contrast to when assistant Siobhán Furlong passed on complaints about the FÁS course to Niamh O’Donoghue, then chair of the Ladies Football Association of Ireland.
She said the relevant players were contacted but when they and the trainees denied the accusations there was no basis for further action.
Rafferty said yesterday that LFAI files given to the FAI when it was subsumed into the organisation provide no evidence of an investigation.
The environment for female players is, clearly, better now than it was then.
For a football coach, particularly a male one, what is appropriate is never — or at least should not be — far from your thoughts.
Before you are allowed to so much as set out a cone, you must be Garda-vetted and undergo a child-safeguarding course.
The extent to which this is enforced varies from club to club and the degree to which that enforcement is policed by the FAI is a matter for debate.
But, if people cannot rely on their own judgement about what is right or wrong, there are at least protocols and guidelines set out to help.
Within the association itself, relationships between coaches and players are barred but that is not currently the case within the Women’s Premier Division.
Courell said: “We’ve been very clear with all of our clubs that best practice is for no relationships to take place.
“It’s for each club to apply that locally based in declarations of relationships.
“The best practice is for the relationship to be disclosed and discussed within the club environment.”
Rafferty confirmed clubs were not obliged to report those relationships to the governing body but added: “In time, we are looking at introducing it as a hard and fast rule through our club licensing structure.”
PAUW EXAMPLE
But is the FAI best in class?
The haste with which it offered its unequivocal support to former Ireland manager Vera Pauw as recently as 2022 when less serious allegations of player mistreatment — which she vehemently denied — were made against her was ill-judged.
A report into the NWSL found that, during her time in charge of Houston Dash, “Pauw appeared to want to control and micromanage players’ diets and exercise regimens even when her weight loss directives were inconsistent with sports medicine best practices — for example, players reported that Pauw discouraged them from eating fruit because of its sugar content.
“Players reported that Pauw’s comments affected a team-mate struggling with an eating disorder.”
The Dutchwoman had grievances over the process, namely its claim that she refused to cooperate when she had provided a written statement and asked, but was refused, permission to record her interview with investigators.
It still seemed remarkable for then FAI chairperson Roy Barrett to describe it as a ‘sham process’.
Separately, he said: “Vera denies it and there is no reason to disbelieve her.”
But Dash apologised to players past and present for what it termed ‘misconduct’ by her and general manager James Clarkson.
Four players and three former staff subsequently spoke to The Athletic about Pauw’s methods which could hardly be categorised as ‘best practice’.
Yet a query yesterday as to whether the FAI’s blanket support for her might have dissuaded players from raising similar concerns was batted away.
Rafferty said: “We want to concentrate on the group of women who’ve been so brave to come forward with their story.”
But looking after those who suffered historically is only one half of their responsibility.
The other is to reassure those in the present and future that they can feel confident that concerns over coach behaviour will be listened to.
And the most recent high-profile example of that suggests that they have work to do.