FAI CEO ‘deeply shocked’ by historical abuse allegations, encourages others to come forward

FAI acting chief executive David Courell said the sporting body’s board was “deeply shocked” by the allegations made by players in the Girls in Green documentary broadcast last night and that the FAI would continue to support an investigation by An Garda Síochána.

Courell was speaking following the broadcast of the documentary last night and a series of articles in The Sunday Independent which detailed allegations made by female players in the 1990s of unwanted sexual advances, sexual abuse and bullying by a number of coaches.

The FAI has confirmed that three named coaches have been ordered to stand down, preventing them from participating in football-related activities.

Courell would not confirm the names of the individuals when asked for their comments at a news conference today, but the individuals were named in the documentary.

Courell said the FAI was first made aware of the allegations earlier this year and the organisation had met with the women.

In a statement, he described the women who came forward as “brave” and said he was “angry” at the revelations.

Finally, we want to say to the women affected by this situation that we hear you and that we are sorry for what you have had to endure.

“We are sorry that the modern practices and reporting structures we have in place were not there for you when you needed them. And we are sorry that anyone in Irish football felt unsafe.”

In addition, Courell outlined the FAI’s responses, including: making “professional support” available to affected women, providing a report to Túsla, seeking advice from An Garda Síochána and setting up an independent helpline for people to report concerns.

“Please take advantage of these options so we can ensure you get the engagement and support you need,” he said.

The helpline is run by the independent Raise a Concern service, with FAI director of people and culture Aoife Rafferty saying reports made to the helpline are not automatically passed on to the gardaí.

“We are all required to report any incidents involving a minor to Túsla. In relation to any other allegations raised, Raise A Concern will encourage those reporting them to contact An Garda Síocháha. This is very important, Raise a Concern cannot report it, it is the individuals themselves who are affected and they will be supported and guided through this process.”

Rafferty said six more contacts had been made to the helpline since it launched, but no “serious problems” had been reported.

She added that details of the concerns raised would not be made public, but that the FAI would be transparent about the number of contacts it had received.

Courell told reporters today that when the FAI was made aware of the allegations it carried out its own investigations, leading to the suspension orders being issued. He said the investigation was not complete but because of the police involvement it was felt the FAI needed to seek advice from the authorities on “next steps”.

“The association is fully committed to taking all necessary steps to ensure that we reach a full conclusion on this matter,” he said.

In last night’s documentary, reference was made to concerns raised at the time about inappropriate relationships within a specific team.

Asked today whether any documents had been discovered relating to those concerns, Rafferty said documents had been found but they did not suggest an investigation had taken place.

The documentary broadcast yesterday by journalists Mark Tighe of the Sunday Independent and Marie Crowe of RTÉ is the result of two years of investigation, with Sports Minister Thomas Byrne describing it as a “poignant” and “very important” programme.

“Justice must now take its course, and I am very aware that a Garda investigation is currently underway,” he tweeted.

“In all sports, safeguarding must be paramount and I will work with Sport Ireland to ensure that everything that needs to be done in Ireland today in terms of safeguarding is actually implemented.”

Last week, police confirmed that an investigation was now underway into “at least one complaint” and that they were continuing to speak to a “number of potential complainants” about the matter.

Contact numbers for Raise A Concern are 01 6107929 or 086 0299929. Individuals can also email [email protected].

Written by Rónán Duffy and published on TheJournal.ie