RELATIONSHIPS between coaches and players may be banned as part of the League of Ireland’s club-licensing system.
The FAI said it was ‘appalled that women involved in Irish football had experienced serious historical abuse and manipulative behaviour’.
It followed a joint RTE/Sunday Independent investigation which alleged Eamonn Collins made inappropriate and unwanted sexual advances to former international players and players who were on the FÁS course in Leixlip in 1990s where he was the head coach.
It was also claimed that, in the same decade, former Ireland manager Mick Cooke made unwanted advances on players within his squad.
Both emphatically and unreservedly deny the claims and the allegations of improper conduct
The FAI already forbids relationships between coaches and players in international squad. It says it advises clubs against permitting them in their environment but it said currently it cannot do anything to stop them.
The Association is, however, considering changing that.
FAI Interim CEO David Courell said: It’s quite clear in that handbook that any amorous relationships between coach and player or student are fundamentally prohibited.
“While we’re always looking to evolve our policies, I want to reassure everybody that have already had that distinction in place.
“Within the Women’s National League, we’ve been very clear with all of our clubs that best practice is for no relationships to take place.
“We have communicated to them and at this stage and 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.”
People and Culture Director Aoife Rafferty confirmed clubs were not obliged to report those relationships to the governing body.
But she added: “In time, we are looking at introducing it as a hard and fast rule through our club licensing structure.
“We’ve made it very clear to each club that best practice is no player-coach relationships. That said, it is up to each club to interpret that on a local basis.”
Courell confirmed that stand-down orders– which have been issued to Cooke and Collins – were handed out by the FAI on an intermittent basis throughout the year.
Asked what action the FAI would take if a player was found to be making advance on a player, Rafferty said: “We’d have to take it on a case-by-case scenario and look at the individual scenario. I think it’s very hard for us to dictate a blanket process.
“We would take every process, every allegation, really seriously and we would then investigate at a local level.”
But she added: “FAI staff would go through a disciplinary process.
“We would work with the club to make sure they have appropriate employment processes in place and disciplinary processes similar to what we have in the FAI.”
LFAI RECORDS
Rafferty said that the LFAI records given to the FAI by former board member Niamh O’Donoghue contained no evidence there had been an investigation into the allegations relating to the FÁS course had taken place.
Siobhán Furlong – an assistant coach on the course – had forwarded complaints from players to the national organisation. Her and O’Donoghue’s recollection of what happened next differed.
Since the FAI was made aware of the historical abuse claims, it has met with the former players concerned and established the Raise a Concern helpline for others to report any wrongdoing.
It said six complaints had been registered through that route, although none were of a serious nature.
Courell would not be drawn on whether the Association was indemnified against possible compensation claims.
And Rafferty declined to say whether the FAI’s support of former Ireland manager Vera Pauw when a US investigation found she had attempted to exert excessive control over her squad at Houston Dash, which Pauw consistently denied, might have dissuaded players from coming forward with concerns.
She said: “We want to concentrate on the group of women who’ve been so brave to come forward with their story.
“It’s more appropriate we commend these women for their bravery, and we talk about those processes, the safeguarding measures we have in place right now.”