At the board of directors meeting in Abbotstown today, there was insufficient support to remove Jonathan Hill from his position as CEO of the Football Association of Ireland. Last month, Hill faced significant criticism from both the Public Accounts Committee at Leinster House and within the association about how he handled the explanation of an €11,500 payment in place of unutilised holidays in 2022.
The British-based CEO of Irish football was obliged to pay back not only this amount, but an additional €8,000, a benefit-in-kind he received for commuting costs, when it was revealed through a Kosi audit that his salary had overstepped the agreed maximum of €270,000. Since 2020 his pay has seen a 23% growth, increasing from €211,000 to €258,000. Despite being offered €30,000 as a relocation allowance, Hill opted to remain residing in England due to personal matters.
The consequences of this breach were felt by all, with Sport Ireland temporarily withholding €6.8 million in grants for Irish football. However, once Hill had returned the €19,500 and the funds were released.
The dismissal attempt during the board meeting was unsuccessful for two primary reasons: Firstly, there was insufficient backing from the directors. Secondly, the cost of terminating the remaining years of Hill’s contract could surpass €500,000. This comes after former CEO, John Delaney, exited the association in 2019 with a pay-off of €462,000.
Despite the criticism surrounding Hill’s handling of the payment, the board agreed that it did not warrant dismissal. However, his attempt to validate his request for the €11,500 payment by stating he had asked it jokingly of a junior FAI employee was largely rebuffed by politicians, including Fine Gael Alan Dillon TD who termed it a “cock and bull” story.
In the previous PAC hearing, Paul Cooke, the president of the Football Association of Ireland (FAI), voiced his apprehensions about CEO Hill. He indicated that Hill’s troubled relationship with the incumbent government might potentially jeopardise the FAI’s bid to secure €517 million over a span of 15 years for facility enhancements nationwide.
The former independent chairman of the FAI, Roy Barrett, consistently supported CEO Hill, whom he had a role in hiring. However, following public taunts at the last Annual General Meeting, his successor, Tony Keohane, mounted the podium to question Barrett’s choice to remunerate Hill without board sanction.
“I won’t mince words. This won’t occur under my leadership,” asserted Keohane.
A panel of five interviewers in 2020 put Hill ahead of Sarah Keane, the president of Ireland’s Olympic Federation, and John Feehan, CEO of Basketball Ireland.
“Our board carried out its planned end-of-month assembly and mulled over an array of topics,” a representative explained that afternoon. “The appointment of our senior men’s team head coach is being finalized by our CEO and football director [Marc Canham], with the final announcement to be made in April as scheduled.”
Canham is expected to name Stephen Kenny’s successor on April 11th or 12th, postponing the initial announcement to avoid coinciding with the women’s Nations League match against England at Aviva Stadium on April 9th.
Hill last spoke out to the press after the Nations League fixture draw in Paris which occurred on February 8th.
“The intriguing and unforeseen week in politics is a reminder of the unpredictable nature of football,” he remarked in the programme notes before the 1-0 defeat to Switzerland on Tuesday.
“We’ve seen a surge in politicians at our matches over the past three years, reflecting the progress we’ve made as an organisation since the challenges we faced in early 2020 and prior.”
For the FAI, challenging times are always around the corner.