Former Republic of Ireland Women's team manager Vera Pauw has sensationally hit back at the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) for not renewing her contract with the Irish team this week.
On Tuesday, after an FAI board meeting was held, it was announced that Pauw's time in Ireland would not extend to the next set of international fixtures.
A lot has been said about what went wrong under Pauw since then. Speculation has arisen that player tensions were a significant factor in Pauw's end of tenure. Others claimed that it was down to overall performance and progression.
The FAI has not commented on the story throughout the World Cup campaign. The organisation only released a standard statement following Pauw's departure.
'I was often disregarded and not respected'
Pauw has now released a statement accusing the FAI, saying she felt 'disregarded and not respected' in the role.
The statement started off by saying, "Following the article that appeared in The Athletic at the start of July, which included allegations I absolutely refute, I believe the FAI made some major mistakes by directly overruling the tasks of the coach,"
"My position became very challenging when executives in the FAI, not technical football coaches, effectively took my seat and spoke to staff members and players regarding their roles in the team before and after the World Cup.
"My advice - coming from my knowledge and experience - was often disregarded and not respected. In my opinion, no head coach in the world would accept interference of the executives in technical football affairs.
"Unfortunately, trust broke down between me and certain people in the FAI."
Republic of Ireland coach Vera Pauw will learn about her Ireland future today (Photo By Stephen McCarthy/Sportsfile'I never received the promised offer'
Pauw also mentioned that she was happy to continue in the role, and that commitments were made to her, but those promises never became a reality in the end.
"I said before the World Cup that I was extremely happy in Ireland and that it was my desire to continue in my role," continued Pauw.
"I entered into discussions with the FAI to extend my contract back in early March and was confident that this process could be concluded quickly.
"At that time I asked Ciarán Medlar to assist me, and the process duly began. The FAI also expressed their commitment to this outcome and worked with my representative to bring this to a conclusion. I requested that their decision, whatever that may be, would be finalised at the very latest before we went to Australia.
"Despite committing to issuing an offer to me, the FAI reconsidered their stated position, and I never received the promised offer. I parked the contract discussions while we were in Australia, as my sole focus was the team and the competition."
Review was 'flawed' and 'outcome pre-determined'
The 60-year-old then went on to say that the decision to remove her from the post was 'flawed and predetermined.'
"I believe that the review process which the Association has carried out was flawed and that the outcome was predetermined," Pauw claimed.
"Indeed, some discussions were held with players and staff before and during the World Cup which undermined my position and had an impact on our team-building process. That is perhaps for another day.
Statement from Vera Pauw - very critical of FAI. pic.twitter.com/Efxs4oOfAA
— Richard Chambers (@newschambers) August 31, 2023
Thank you to Irish fans
Despite this, Pauw thanked Irish fans for helping her during her time as Ireland boss. She claimed that she will always feel Irish from this day on.
"However, I do not leave with any regrets, and my overriding emotions today are of happiness and pride to have played a part in the wonderful journey of this team over the last four years."
In thanking the Republic fans, Pauw said: "The Irish people have been so welcoming and supportive of me from the day I arrived here, and I have been very happy and always felt extremely safe in Ireland.
"I will never forget the warmth the Irish people have shown towards me, and a part of me will always feel Irish from here on!"
