A bid by a former football manager to sue over allegations the FAI had interfered with his ability to earn a livelihood writing for a newspaper has been dismissed by the High Court.
Patsy McGowan (74), three-times manager with Donegal’s Finn Harps and more recently a journalist with a local paper, sought to sue the FAI and its chief executive John Delaney.
He claimed they had tried to silence his criticism of them to prevent him exposing alleged corruption within the association.
Yesterday, the president of the High Court, Mr Justice Nicholas Kearns, granted an application by the FAI and Mr Delaney to dismiss Mr McGowan’s claim on the basis it was frivolous, showed no reasonable cause of action and amounted to an abuse of court process.
Mr McGowan, Ballybofey, Donegal, sought damages claiming the defendants intentionally interfered with and prevented him from earning a living as a sports journalist since 2007.
Mr Justice Kearns said Mr McGowan had shown no cause of action and he dismissed the case. He also refused to grant a stay on his order pending an appeal to the Supreme Court and also awarded costs against Mr McGowan.