Deloitte has officially resigned as external auditors to the FAI (stock picture)

Deloitte has officially resigned as external auditors to the Football Association of Ireland, the accountancy firm has confirmed in a filing with the Companies Registration Office (CRO).

The move follows months of accounting scandal at soccer’s governing body involving the departure of longtime FAI leaders and warnings that it could face financial collapse without an emergency Government cash injection.

Deloitte Ireland notified the FAI of its resignation from the role in a brief letter dated Wednesday, 8 January, and received by the CRO the following day.

Deloitte in April 2019 had reported the FAI for failing to keep proper accounting records - a potential criminal offence. It had been the FAI’s auditor for the past 23 years.

Deloitte’s specific filing in relation to the FAI said the body had contravened Sections 281 and 282 of the Companies Act 2014, which set out the rules governing how companies must maintain adequate accounting records.

At the FAI’s annual general meeting last month, senior Deloitte officials told delegates they had been “misled” by FAI directors when carrying out their duties.

The official exit of Deloitte as external auditors was believed to have been recognised at the FAI’s board meeting last week, when the body appointed Goodbody Stockbrokers managing director Roy Barrett as its new chairman. The FAI is still searching for a new chief executive following John Delaney’s resignation last year.

Two other independent directors were appointed: Catherine Guy, the CEO of Sixt Leasing and a former managing partner of law firm ByrneWallace, and Central Bank human resources director Liz Joyce.

Mr Barrett is due officially to take over as FAI chairman later this month as the body’s president, Donal Conway, steps down.

FAI board members are hopeful that Mr Barrett's financial packground will help the body secure a rescue package in discussions this week with Government officials.

Sports minister Shane Ross and a delegation from the Department of Sport are due to meet officials from Uefa on Tuesday in attempts to find a financial and regulatory path forward for the FAI.

Online Editors