The Football Association of Ireland released a statement last night on behalf of it's Chief Executive John Delaney after it emerged that Mr Delaney had provided the FAI with a €100,000 cheque in April 2017.
And in further development, The Sunday Times revealed that Mr Delaney had attempted to have an injunction placed on the newspaper, preventing them from airing the story in this morning's edition.
After a three-hour sitting at the High Court last night, however, judge Anthony Barr ruled that the newspaper should be permitted to publish the story, which it duly did so shortly after midnight last night.
Just spent the last three hours in the High Court after John Delaney tried to get an emergency injunction to prevent us reporting on FAI and Delaney payments. The judge ruled in our favour! Story in @SunTimesIreland tomorrow. 🙂
— Mark Tighe (@MarkLTighe) March 16, 2019
In response, Mr Delaney issued a statement through the FAI in which he outlined a few details about the nature of the payment.
FAI Statement in full:
The Football Association of Ireland Chief Executive John Delaney has stated that he provided the FAI with a €100,000 bridging loan in April 2017.
The short-term loan was required to aid cash flow on that occasion and was repaid in full to John Delaney by the Association in June 2017.
The CEO has also confirmed that his UEFA remuneration for 2018 has been donated back to the FAI on a voluntary basis.
Speaking tonight, John Delaney said: “I am aware of stories circulating around this loan dating back to 2017.
“I confirm that I made a once-off bridging loan to the Association to aid a very short-term cash flow issue.
“This is the only occasion on which I provided the Association with a short-term loan.”
Mr Delaney became the Chief Executive of the FAI in a permanent capacity in March 2015, having earlier rose to prominence in the association as the association's public figurehead during the infamous Saipan affair at the 2002 FIFA World Cup.
In his time at the helm, he has overseen the appointment of four managers, most recently the reappointment of Mick McCarthy to the head coaching position.
The story and Delaney's statement come less than a week before Ireland are due to kick off their Euro 2020 qualifying campaign away to minnows Gibraltar.
