The FAI's Board of Management will meet again on the 23rd of this month to consider the results of an internal inquiry into the alleged misuse of a company credit card by the association's chief executive Bernard O'Byrne.

At yesterday's meeting of the organisation's directors in Dublin, the matter was deferred because of the specially appointed sub-committee's ongoing work on the issue but, over the course of a four-and-a-half-hour session in Dublin there were a number of heated exchanges over other issues.

Several delegates registered their anger over the way the extension to the current television deal with Sky television was concluded, with directors complaining that they were asked to rubber stamp the deal by phone while the association's officers were in Cyprus.

Other matters raised included the threatened libel action between John Delaney, John Byrne, Pat Quigley and O'Byrne, with various third parties proposing that some sort of arbitration be established to deal with the issue, although it is unclear whether any of those involved will agree to the suggestion.