Meanwhile, there’ll be those who’ll say the murkiness surrounding the FAI’s refusal to approve a friendly between Limerick FC and Barcelona smacks of protectionism on the part of the suits in Abbotstown — even if they went out of their way to preserve football on Shannonside in the recent past.
Sure certain protocols need to be applied, but commercial imperatives plainly aimed at making the capital’s new stadium pay its way must be weighed against the needs of the wider game in Ireland. Which is precisely what ex-Blues secretary/director John Delaney — a chartered accountant well-versed in commercial law — says they’re doing.
The timing is, as they say, unfortunate, but there’s a whole lot of opportunism going on in terms of looking for any excuse to put the boot into the FAI in what should be a good-news week.
Anyway, the one Barca player the whole of Ireland can’t wait to see was hardly going to show up at Thomond Park was he?
