FAI ROCKED BY GLEESON ALLEGATIONS

Association denies discrimination claims by former Ireland manager

- BY MARK McCADDEN

THE FAI have responded to a bombshell newspaper report yesterday on former Ireland WNT manager Eileen Gleeson's legal action against the Association.

A spokesperson said the FAI “treats all matters of alleged discrimination within Irish football with the utmost seriousness.”

Gleeson, according to documents seen by the Sunday Independent, has made a series of explosive allegations against the Abbotstown-based governing body.

In court documents, she accuses the FAI of discrimination and bullying.

Gleeson managed the women’s senior international team, initially on an interim basis between August and December 2023, and then on a full-time basis until December of last year.

Ireland's failure to qualify for the 2025 European Championships, after a playoff defeat to Wales, led the FAI to opt against renewing her contract.

Among her complaints, Gleeson points to the difference in her salary, which is reported to have been just over €100,000, and the €650,000 that the FAI agreed with men’s head coach Heimir Hallgrímsson.