FAI agree to arbitration

THE FAI were obliged yesterday to agree to arbitration with Limerick over its decision last May to refuse the club permission for a fund-raising friendly game against Barcelona at Thomond Park.

The association had sought to keep the dispute in-house but finally agreed to go to arbitration under the 2010 Act after the club, which claimed its attempts to progress the case had previously been ignored, had sought to have the High Court direct it to do so.

Maurice Collins SC, who overruled the league when asked to consider its handling of a dispute which arose when Bohemians fielded a player who should have been suspended in 2006, will oversee the process.

Limerick, it is believed, will contend the FAI should be prohibited under competition law from banning the playing of friendly games in venues with a capacity of 15,000 or more. This effectively leaves it in control of the only ground in the country where such games could be played.

The club believes it lost a significant amount of money as a result of the FAI’s refusal to sanction the game and in documents submitted to the court it apparently argues it should be entitled to significant damages.

The FAI have consistently claimed it is prevented from granting permission for such games under the terms of its deal with Endemol, the TV sports rights and promotions company who, along with Iconic, has signed up to run a four-team tournament at the Aviva Stadium each summer for the next 10 years.

Some uncertainty on the part of the FAI itself when the issue first came to a head, however, generated questions about both the precise terms and the timing of the contract and it is expected that Limerick will attempt to gain access to key documents relating to the deal during the course of the arbitration proceedings.

Limerick owner and chairman Pat O’Sullivan expressed surprise yesterday that he had ended up having to go to court in relation to the matter but insisted he now wants the situation “sorted out as quickly as possible”.

Asked if he hopes to stage games at Thomond this summer, he said: “We’d love to do that. We need to get some new income so that the club is in a position to take on some of the social responsibilities in the city that we would like it to.”

He also expressed optimism regarding the club’s proposed return to the Marketsfield observing when asked if it might get back there this year: “I’d love to see that happen and it won’t be our fault if it doesn’t.”

The FAI last night issued a statement acknowledging it had agreed to the arbitration process but warning that the outcome of the process could have implications for its ability to generate and distribute funds. It has previously put the value to it of the annual Endemol run tournament at €1 million a year.