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Malachy Clerkin: The Vera Pauw era ends after marathon FAI board meeting

Soccer, racing and the return of Gordon D’Arcy all feature in today’s sports section

Ireland manager Vera Pauw. Photograph: Ryan Byrne/Inpho

Malachy Clerkin's face
Malachy Clerkin
Wed Aug 30 2023 - 11:40

The big news today is that the Vera Pauw era is over. The FAI board meeting went late last night – it was just coming up on 11pm when the association released their statement confirming what they’d decided during a six-hour board meeting. As Gavin Cummiskey writes, they have decided not to extend her contract and so her four years in charge of the Ireland team are up.

In horse racing, Brian O’Connor brings the story of two referrals by the stewards at Downpatrick on Monday. “The race-day stewards referred the success of the gambled on Anyway in a handicap hurdle after the Ken Budds-trained horse justified significant support from 28-1 morning odds down to evens favourite Another referral to the IHRB occurred in the same race due to the withdrawal of the Charles Byrnes-trained Karloss.”

Elsewhere, Gordon D’Arcy’s column returns for the winter and his first of the new season is a doozy. Having experienced both sides of making and missing out on World Cup squads, his insights into how players feel when it happens are worth your time. “We just talked as peers, almost friends,” he writes of his chat with Joe Schmidt in 2015. “He tried to find the words to let me down gently.”

The onset of the club GAA season is the subject of Seán Moran’s Wednesday column, specifically the protections that are – or indeed aren’t- available to referees. “It’s no wonder that match officials frequently – if subconsciously – default to the less controversial outcome when making decisions.” No wonder, but not ideal either.

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Also in Gaelic games, the retirement of Mayo stalwart Kevin McLoughlin is the subject of Gordon Manning’s piece today. In a conversation with former Mayo forward John Casey, he finds that McLoughlin was “one of the great unsung servants of Mayo football”.

In golf, the US Ryder Cup team was confirmed yesterday, with captain Zach Johnson surprising nobody by choosing Justin Thomas among his six captain’s picks, despite the two-time major champion having had a very poor season on the PGA Tour. “He has been, without question, the heart and soul of US Ryder Cup teams, our emotional leader,” Johnson said of Thomas. “Overall [he has] a fantastic Ryder Cup record. His passion for the Ryder Cup is very evident. In my mind, he is born for this and you just don’t leave JT at home.”

On Telly: Day Three of the US Open tennis (Sky Sports Main Event, 3pm)