Vote on Fahy's position could go either way

FAI Council meeting: The ongoing attempt to force FAI honorary secretary Kevin Fahy out of his position is set to come to a head this afternoon at Citywest, where a specially convened meeting of the association's council is due to consider a motion aimed at removing him.

The move to effectively sack Fahy is fronted by association president Milo Corcoran but has the support of most of its leading figures. However, the motion which will be put to the 59-strong council requires a two thirds majority and both sides admit that the numbers are very tight.

Supporters of Fahy, who was left isolated within the association eight months ago by the departure of then Eircom League chairman Brendan Dillon, are hopeful that an amendment to the main motion, aimed at referring the situation to a form of arbitration, may dispense with the need for a vote. Corcoran's backers, on the other hand, seem certain to argue that the amendment is out of order and cannot be considered, a point on which they look likely to win out.

Having had to abandon a previous attempt to have Fahy's future decided by the organisation's board because of legal concerns about the process, Corcoran's credibility would be further dented if this afternoon's vote fails to produce his desired result.

Both sides, however, were already positioning themselves yesterday for just such an eventuality.

Those keen on seeing Fahy depart suggest that he could hardly stay on just because fractionally short of the required number had voted against him and those on the other side of the fence argue that it is the president's position that would be untenable if, after claiming that he could no longer work with a man who was once an ally within Merrion Square, he was required to do just that.

The case against the former Football Association of Irish Schools official is based on the way in which he is alleged to have carried out his duties as honorary secretary.

Little secret is made, however, of the wider desire to see him depart due to his opposition to the shifting power structures with Merrion Square.

Fahy served for a period as acting general secretary in the wake of Brendan Menton's departure from the association two years ago and was subsequently a member of the panel that appointed Fran Rooney to the organisation's top job.

He has since become a staunch opponent of Rooney's, criticising both his actions and management style but he himself is regarded by critics as "part of a dying culture within the FAI".

Both Fahy and Dillon have repeatedly raised questions about the finances of the association, although senior FAI officials have consistently countered that everything possible has been done to satisfy their concerns.

Last week Fahy, accompanied by an outside accountant, had a lengthy meeting with the association's financial accountant Peter Buckley and one of the organisation's senior managers, Tadgh O'Halloran. But there were again difficulties when he was refused permission to take away copies of some of the documentation he was shown.

Issues such as the scale of the professional fees paid by the association, payments to officers and other internal spending have all been raised in the past but his critics believe that his attempts to pursue his inquiries have damaged the association.

If Fahy, who has lodged a complaint with the Director of Corporate Enforcement in relation to the association, is ousted he will join the likes of Dillon, Eddie Cox and John Byrne, all of whom departed from the association after clashing with its new leadership.