John Fallon: Drogheda United not the sole culprits for €525k blunder
Drogheda’s Adam Foley lifts the FAI Cup. Pic: ©INPHO/Lorcan Doherty.
ALL judges at some stage of their careers dismiss ignorance as no defence and it clearly applies in the embarrassing episode of Drogheda United.
The Roman Maxim is the most straightforward method of swinging a hearing but what’s transpired since the Court of Arbitration for Sport ruled on Monday makes the club not alone as culpable.
Last November’s FAI Cup victory by the sole part-time club in the Premier Division was a fairytale franked by the first European qualification for 12 years.
Droves of those fans who trekked to the Aviva Stadium from the neighbouring Wee County started boxing off their summer holidays for the away leg.
For the club, the trophy’s only windfall was from Uefa. The FAI’s straitened financial state has reduced prize money to a miniscule five-figure sum, whereas bypassing of the first Uefa Conference League round for the cup winner entitled them to a minimum of €525,000.
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Club owners since 2023, Trivela had already chosen to bankroll an upgrade to a full-time set-up from this season, yet the extra half a million was factored into the budget available to manager Kevin Doherty.
Moreover, he admitted the lure of Conference League exposure attracted players — particularly UK-based talent whose chances of gracing such a stage are remote. All roads led towards today’s second round draw in Switzerland.
Drogs officials had their flights booked, primed to see first hand their name on one of Uefa’s glitzy screens. Their delegation included specialists experienced in handling major logistical events.
It was all in vain, for Uefa on June 5 unceremoniously dumped them out of the competition on account of Trivela’s multi-club ownership conflicts. Short turnaround times became the hot topic.
CAS, the court of last resort, was mobilised to arrange an expedited appeal, assembling three eminent judges.
Uefa’s clock was ticking down to finalising the teams for their draw. They delayed the traditional press email promoting the draw until an hour after the CAS decision was delivered at 5pm on Monday.
Yet this could all have been avoided. And, as the emotion subsides, the spotlight deserves to be shone on those who, by their acts or omissions, contributed to Irish football losing out on a whopper payday when its need is most acute.
Trivela are not the only mothership liable to Uefa’s rules around sporting integrity.
In England alone, the threat of being drawn against foreign clubs under the same ownership has arisen for City Group, INEOS, Eagle Holdings, V Sports, and Tony Bloom.
All restructured to avoid the fate that befell Drogs. All were successful due to what sceptics may deride as loopholes. One condition permitting entry of both clubs, for instance, is a suspension of transfers and loans between them.
That Trivela weren’t able to reorder their affairs to comply with Uefa’s regulations was explained by time constraints.
In their appeal, Drogs claimed they only received two days’ notice in late February to prove their case.
The March 1 cutoff was a change from the traditional June 1 deadline — the same day Trivela’s new club Silkeborg qualified for the same Conference League by winning the Danish playoff for seventh place.
Although Uefa didn’t inform all clubs directly of the change at the time, it did so through their 55 member associations.
The FAI received the updated Article 5.01 on October 7 last year. Uefa specified the early flagging was to prepare susceptible clubs to adhere through clearly outlined means.
The FAI didn’t forward the instruction to Drogheda or other clubs who could potentially replace them if Drogs were expelled.
“We conclude that Drogheda knew, or ought to have known, about the change,” read the CAS verdict, aware Uefa notified the Irish association.
The FAI hadn’t responded to a request for an explanation when the Irish Examiner revealed this lapse on Monday night.
They finally did on Tuesday afternoon but it doesn’t address the salient points.
“At the time of publication of the Uefa circular in question on October 7, Drogheda United FC’s ownership group did not own Silkeborg IF — therefore this Uefa circular was not sent by the FAI to the club,” it read.
“When the FAI were notified of Trivela Group’s takeover of Silkeborg IF on November 19, the FAI informed the Trivela Group of our concerns regarding Drogheda United participation the Conference League should Silkeborg IF qualify for the tournament due to Uefa’s multi-club ownership regulations.
“Uefa were informed of the scenario regarding Drogheda United FC and Silkeborg IF via the standard procedures by both the FAI and DBU.
“All 10 Men’s Premier Division teams were invited by the FAI to apply for a Uefa licence in December, but only the four clubs who qualified on sporting merit completed the process.
“On May 7, the awarding of Uefa licences was announced by the FAI following the completion of the independent licensing committee review.”
Nowhere therein does it detail the earlier deadline being brought to the attention of Drogs.
Ditto for the others, such as FAI Cup runners-up Derry City. We can only deduce they weren’t informed either.
Uefa deserve their share of flak for various gaffes, but the idea they imposed a two-day deadline after initial notification is absurd.
It is also worth noting that Trivela are long-time owners of Walsall. They were still in the English FA Cup until November 30, technically eligible for European qualification.
To the distraught Drogs fanbase, the Americans have apologised.
They are also worthy of one from the FAI but won’t be holding their breath. Plausible deniability doesn’t stack up on this one.
There is no guarantee of finance minister Jack Chambers sanctioning the €8m requested by the FAI to fund the creation of a functioning industry, but they are doing everything asked of them.
The final element of the exercise is an State-funded independent audit of each club’s needs in terms of human resources and infrastructure.
Five weeks ago, renowned Belgian consultants Double Pass were chosen to carry out the exercise and that work begins tomorrow. Over five days, they have scheduled introductory meetings in Dublin, with all 26 of the entities seeking assistance.
Part two entails the Belgians returning in July to travel nationwide to undertake on-site audits of the clubs. Double Pass will furnish their final report in time for the start of the new Government term in September.
Since Brexit restrictions in 2021 banned players moving to UK clubs until their 18th birthday, the FAI have been pleading for exchequer funding to generate a home-based sector capable of producing the next generation of players.
The diminishing volume of Irish players operating in the top five leagues across Europe is foremost in the sales pitch.
Despite mixed messages from the last two sports ministers, a timeline has been brokered with the agency Sport Ireland for the FAI to deliver on their part of this equation.
Then it’s up to the political establishment to deliver on their programme for government promise.
England's expansion of their Women's Super League from 12 to 14 teams from 2026 should prove a boon for Ireland's players seeking top-flight standard.
A recurring frustration for players involved in the Championship – renamed as WSL 2 – is the fact only the title winner gets promoted.
Birmingham City, a magnet for Irish players in recent years, were the major losers of the policy. They finished second in two of the last four years. Charlton Athletic and London City Lionesses also had an Irish presence in the other two seasons.
At the end of next season, the top two will be automatically promoted to facilitate the expansion.
Talk of scrapping WSL relegation incurred a backlash and the compromise is the basement side entering a survival playoff against the third-placed team from the second tier.
Once the 14-team complement is filled, regularity will be the second-bottom team meeting the WSL's runner-up for a top-flight berth.
john.fallon@examiner.ie.
