'He's an embarrassment' - Cork City's Academy chief calls out FAI chief executive

Cork City’s Academy manager Liam Kearney has blasted the FAI supremo Jonathan Hill, expressing fear the chief executive’s shambolic performance last week risks further delaying vital funding.

Kearney, part of City’s 2005 league-winning team, has been vocal in the past about the urgent need to financially support nurturing national league academies who now run teams from U14 to U20.

The specifics of the financial model are contained within the 15-year, €863m facilities and investment strategy the FAI rolled out last year but their prospects of convincing the State to contribute over a half billion are in tatters following their appearance before the Public Accounts Committee last Thursday.

Late submissions, redacted emails and incomplete witness lists angered the sitting TDs, who insisted they didn’t believe Hill’s explanation about his role in the the acceptance of €11,500 of cash received in lieu of untaken holidays last year.

There was additional alarm among public representatives at the admission they breached conditions of the Covid-19 resilience funding by using a portion to settle legacy debt.

Since FAI President Paul Cooke refused to express confidence in Hill during the hearing, there’s been a backlash from FAI staff, their representatives in SIPTU and a meeting of the board this Wednesday promises to be feisty.

Kearney is the first prominent member of the football community to ventilate his disdain publicly, responding online to a commentary article in the Irish Sun newspaper.

That article ridicules the fact Hill claims the payment was initiated by him making a throwaway remark that was ‘interpreted’ by the then finance director as a request for a payment that’s expressly prohibited within the FAI’s own