FAI given hairdryer treatment by PAC over trust issues

Another uneventful week in Irish football. Nothing much happened, nothing to see here, move along now please.

Except of course there was the Republic of Ireland women's team playing Italy in Eileen Gleeson’s first game as full-time head coach, a game they probably should have won but a draw away from home against higher ranked opposition is no bad result, and continues the progress made since Ms Gleeson took over from Vera Pauw.

Two sold out Dublin derbies were the hottest tickets in town as Shelbourne - universally now known as "Damien Duff’s Shelbourne" - overcame the champions Shamrock Rovers in a compelling game at Tolka Park while Bohemians went to Inchicore and took home all three points against St Patrick’s Athletic. Galway and Waterford both won on the road as well as they visited Co Louth.

Perhaps though - for the future of Irish football - the most important single thing this past week was the launch of the Football Pathways plan which aims to put a structure on the game at all levels for the next 12 years.

Association Football being the number one sport in the country with 225,000 registered players, 75 leagues and over 1,100 clubs.

A goal without a plan is just a wish, they say, so it is good to have a plan.

It is also good to have a genuine buzz around the women’s national team and domestic football.

But then the FAI had to go and spoil it all by saying something stupid like: "Can we negotiate the same for me please?! …question mark, exclamation mark."

Chief executive Jonathan Hill’s throwaway line in an email to a junior member of staff - which he claimed was a joke - led to him receiving €11,500 in lieu of holidays not taken and his salary, exceeding that of a Secretary General, breached the terms of the