FAI PRESIDENT PAUL Cooke feels the dramatic events which led to the Republic of Ireland players almost boycotting Sunday’s Nations League game with Israel were handled well by the association.
In an interview with journalists after the 3-0 win in Debrecen, Cooke rounded on journalists for how they reported on a dramatic weekend for Irish football, as well as the entire build up to the controversial Israel games.
To provide transparency of how the interview went, we have decided to publish it with only very minor edits for brevity.
***
Q: How do you think the week was handled by the FAI?
A: I think we’ve handled the week quite well. I think, first of all, before we even get into that, I think if you look at the courage, the performance, the way they conducted themselves, everybody that was here tonight, those 20-odd players that togged out, as a nation, a country, as a footballing organisation, we should be so proud of them in the face of the difficulties that they encountered.
Q: So, to repeat, you think you’ve handled the week quite well?
A: I think the week went as well as could be expected in the face of, I would say, unprecedented coverage and the way some people conducted themselves. And I’m not referring to anybody in the camp.
Q: Who are you referring to?
A: I am referring to the way some of you have behaved in some respects, right. The pressure, the way some stories have been chased. I’ve worked in media for 35 years. I thought journalists were meant to be balanced and reflect two sides of an opinion. I haven’t seen that. That’s just my personal gripe.
Q: What side’s been lacking?
A: Well, as to why the game should be played. I have never seen a piece from any one of you here. I have never seen a piece from any of you saying why should the game be played. The case for playing the game.
Q: But you were making the case?
A: Well, sorry, no. Well, I’ve never seen. Ye were just knocking it. But anyway, in the face of that, that’s what made it quite difficult for everyone. I’ve never seen…well we made the case in parts and everybody was just picking holes in it. The reality here is we all know what the sanctions will be, which is two 3-0 defeats. We all know that and then there’s undetermined sanctions.
Southampton got a taste of what an undetermined sanction would be. But I’ve never seen anyone reflect that. We are charged in football with what is good for Irish football and the future of Irish football.
That’s what we’re charged with. And what was lost in a lot of this was the decision that the board took, first of all, that was endorsed by our members, by nearly over two-thirds majority, to play the game. That is football democracy and transparency.
A lot of you might remember, back in the days, there was never that. But this is what I heard nobody actually saying. And once when I read the articles, anybody’s… I had this earlier on today somewhere. Anybody actually saying that the football community have spoken to play the games, which they have.
Q: Euro 2028 was mentioned in your document, that being at risk from this.
A: Well, we don’t know because…
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Q: OK, did Uefa ever communicate that to you?
A: Uefa never communicated anything specifically.
Q: But Paul, do you not accept that the undetermined sanctions are a significant part of this?
A: They are, but I don’t know what they are. But equally, the other sanctions are serious. Let’s not forget that. Two 3-0 defeats. They are serious as well. And the consequences of going down to League C. But equally, as I said, I haven’t heard anybody say that this decision was taken by the football community, which is what it was.
Q: There’ll be a thought process from a lot of people in the country that the decision isn’t just about what should be good for football.
A: Well, that’s the thought process. All I can do is deal what’s best for football, which is what I’ve tried to do all my life. All the time I’ve been involved in the FAI. That’s all I’ve tried to do. And that’s what I hope I do try to do every day. When I’m talking to people about football.
Q: Did you make these points in the hotel yesterday to people? What was your role in the decision being taken to play the game?
A: My role was there to support everybody. That was my role.
Q: Because you said that, I mean, ultimately, David [Courell] and John [Martin] and Heimir [Hallgrímsson] came into the room yesterday and said that it was a player vote, which very much makes it look like you’re saying the decision was taken by the football community, and that should be reflected. However, on the day before the game, when their training session was five hours late, it was very much being portrayed that the decision has been taken by the players.
A: The players took a vote, which I said we would respect and we respected it. That was to play the game and they played the game.
Q: So you would have been comfortable if the players voted against it to not play the game?
A: We respect the players. The players are the ultimate. But the decision going way back was taken by the football community to play the game.
Q: So if the players were to indicate that they don’t want to play the next game, what would their opinion be on that?
A: We will take every…our focus now moves to Austria, and we will take the Austria game first, and then we’ll move on.
Q: So you’ll leave it to next Friday again?
A: Sorry, we move on one game at a time. One game at a time. That’s what we’re doing here.
Q: You spoke of how the week was handled, so do you think it’s external stuff that caused it?
A: I do think that, yeah.
Q: In that regard then, so it’s going to be a case of getting the Austria game out of the way and then doing the same, having a vote for it, letting the players have a vote again?
A: No, no, no, I didn’t mention a vote. The intention is to play the game. Daniel [McDonnell] asked a different question. If somebody said they didn’t want to play the game or whatever, we would look at that. We always respect people’s views. We’re a democratic, transparent organisation.
Q: Even before the draw, you were saying we’re going to play them (Israel). The draw, the statement comes out, ‘we’re going to play them’. How would you make a decision without consulting with the players? You can’t have a game without players.
A: We’re a football organisation. The organisation makes the decision. The organisation made the decision to play the game.
Q: But the decision could have changed yesterday?
A: Well, it could have changed.
Q: Would it have been wise… [Cooke interjects]
A: You might have had different things in the camp. You might have had different whatever, right? The football community took the decision to play the game.
Q: Considering how the week has gone, at the end of all this you are fully happy with how everything has gone. You don’t feel there will be any need for an investigation, maybe not an investigation but a report on how things could have been done better?
A: We always have a report after every camp.
Q: A standard international report?
A: John Martin (director of football) does a report after every camp.
Q: At any point have you thought that the game shouldn’t be played?
A: No.
Q: That’s your personal conviction?
A: That’s my personal conviction, which is, as I said, are the consequences for Irish football, which has been lost, guys. I keep saying this to ye.
Q: Latvia boycotted a senior women’s qualifier, lost a point to a fine of €5,000. Why would your sanctions be any different?
A: I don’t know. I don’t know, but, equally, sorry hold on, so you’re actually saying to me we should drop the six points?
The interview is being brought to an end by the FAI media officer before a final question…
Q: You’re being very clear that you wanted the game to go ahead. Did you actually say that to the players? Did you say, I feel this game should go ahead, as the president of the association, or did you leave it completely to them?
A: We left it to the players. The players made their own decision. We left it to the players. The players made their own decision.
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'I think we've handled the week quite well' - FAI president
FAI PRESIDENT PAUL Cooke feels the dramatic events which led to the Republic of Ireland players almost boycotting Sunday’s Nations League game with Israel were handled well by the association.
In an interview with journalists after the 3-0 win in Debrecen, Cooke rounded on journalists for how they reported on a dramatic weekend for Irish football, as well as the entire build up to the controversial Israel games.
To provide transparency of how the interview went, we have decided to publish it with only very minor edits for brevity.
***
Q: How do you think the week was handled by the FAI?
A: I think we’ve handled the week quite well. I think, first of all, before we even get into that, I think if you look at the courage, the performance, the way they conducted themselves, everybody that was here tonight, those 20-odd players that togged out, as a nation, a country, as a footballing organisation, we should be so proud of them in the face of the difficulties that they encountered.
Q: So, to repeat, you think you’ve handled the week quite well?
A: I think the week went as well as could be expected in the face of, I would say, unprecedented coverage and the way some people conducted themselves. And I’m not referring to anybody in the camp.
Q: Who are you referring to?
A: I am referring to the way some of you have behaved in some respects, right. The pressure, the way some stories have been chased. I’ve worked in media for 35 years. I thought journalists were meant to be balanced and reflect two sides of an opinion. I haven’t seen that. That’s just my personal gripe.
Q: What side’s been lacking?
A: Well, as to why the game should be played. I have never seen a piece from any one of you here. I have never seen a piece from any of you saying why should the game be played. The case for playing the game.
Q: But you were making the case?
A: Well, sorry, no. Well, I’ve never seen. Ye were just knocking it. But anyway, in the face of that, that’s what made it quite difficult for everyone. I’ve never seen…well we made the case in parts and everybody was just picking holes in it. The reality here is we all know what the sanctions will be, which is two 3-0 defeats. We all know that and then there’s undetermined sanctions.
Southampton got a taste of what an undetermined sanction would be. But I’ve never seen anyone reflect that. We are charged in football with what is good for Irish football and the future of Irish football.
That’s what we’re charged with. And what was lost in a lot of this was the decision that the board took, first of all, that was endorsed by our members, by nearly over two-thirds majority, to play the game. That is football democracy and transparency.
A lot of you might remember, back in the days, there was never that. But this is what I heard nobody actually saying. And once when I read the articles, anybody’s… I had this earlier on today somewhere. Anybody actually saying that the football community have spoken to play the games, which they have.
Q: Euro 2028 was mentioned in your document, that being at risk from this.
A: Well, we don’t know because…
Q: OK, did Uefa ever communicate that to you?
A: Uefa never communicated anything specifically.
Q: But Paul, do you not accept that the undetermined sanctions are a significant part of this?
A: They are, but I don’t know what they are. But equally, the other sanctions are serious. Let’s not forget that. Two 3-0 defeats. They are serious as well. And the consequences of going down to League C. But equally, as I said, I haven’t heard anybody say that this decision was taken by the football community, which is what it was.
Q: There’ll be a thought process from a lot of people in the country that the decision isn’t just about what should be good for football.
A: Well, that’s the thought process. All I can do is deal what’s best for football, which is what I’ve tried to do all my life. All the time I’ve been involved in the FAI. That’s all I’ve tried to do. And that’s what I hope I do try to do every day. When I’m talking to people about football.
Q: Did you make these points in the hotel yesterday to people? What was your role in the decision being taken to play the game?
A: My role was there to support everybody. That was my role.
Q: Because you said that, I mean, ultimately, David [Courell] and John [Martin] and Heimir [Hallgrímsson] came into the room yesterday and said that it was a player vote, which very much makes it look like you’re saying the decision was taken by the football community, and that should be reflected. However, on the day before the game, when their training session was five hours late, it was very much being portrayed that the decision has been taken by the players.
A: The players took a vote, which I said we would respect and we respected it. That was to play the game and they played the game.
Q: So you would have been comfortable if the players voted against it to not play the game?
A: We respect the players. The players are the ultimate. But the decision going way back was taken by the football community to play the game.
Q: So if the players were to indicate that they don’t want to play the next game, what would their opinion be on that?
A: We will take every…our focus now moves to Austria, and we will take the Austria game first, and then we’ll move on.
Q: So you’ll leave it to next Friday again?
A: Sorry, we move on one game at a time. One game at a time. That’s what we’re doing here.
Q: You spoke of how the week was handled, so do you think it’s external stuff that caused it?
A: I do think that, yeah.
Q: In that regard then, so it’s going to be a case of getting the Austria game out of the way and then doing the same, having a vote for it, letting the players have a vote again?
A: No, no, no, I didn’t mention a vote. The intention is to play the game. Daniel [McDonnell] asked a different question. If somebody said they didn’t want to play the game or whatever, we would look at that. We always respect people’s views. We’re a democratic, transparent organisation.
Q: Even before the draw, you were saying we’re going to play them (Israel). The draw, the statement comes out, ‘we’re going to play them’. How would you make a decision without consulting with the players? You can’t have a game without players.
A: We’re a football organisation. The organisation makes the decision. The organisation made the decision to play the game.
Q: But the decision could have changed yesterday?
A: Well, it could have changed.
Q: Would it have been wise… [Cooke interjects]
A: You might have had different things in the camp. You might have had different whatever, right? The football community took the decision to play the game.
Q: Considering how the week has gone, at the end of all this you are fully happy with how everything has gone. You don’t feel there will be any need for an investigation, maybe not an investigation but a report on how things could have been done better?
A: We always have a report after every camp.
Q: A standard international report?
A: John Martin (director of football) does a report after every camp.
Q: At any point have you thought that the game shouldn’t be played?
A: No.
Q: That’s your personal conviction?
A: That’s my personal conviction, which is, as I said, are the consequences for Irish football, which has been lost, guys. I keep saying this to ye.
Q: Latvia boycotted a senior women’s qualifier, lost a point to a fine of €5,000. Why would your sanctions be any different?
A: I don’t know. I don’t know, but, equally, sorry hold on, so you’re actually saying to me we should drop the six points?
The interview is being brought to an end by the FAI media officer before a final question…
Q: You’re being very clear that you wanted the game to go ahead. Did you actually say that to the players? Did you say, I feel this game should go ahead, as the president of the association, or did you leave it completely to them?
A: We left it to the players. The players made their own decision. We left it to the players. The players made their own decision.
Q: But you gave them your opinion?
A: No, we left it to the players.
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