The Chair of the Irish Sports Council has given the board of the Irish Amateur Boxing Association 24 hours to rethink its approach to the departure of head coach Billy Walsh and to accept an agreement hammered out last month that would have assured he stayed.
Speaking on RTÉ’s Prime Time, Kieran Mulvey said there was a failure of governance in the IABA which was a matter of serious concern to the Sports Council and unless the matter was satisfactorily resolved it would have to review its funding relationship with the association.
Mr Mulvey said a negotiated agreement with the IABA on 22 August was never put to its board but should now be put.
Kieran Mulvey says Billy Walsh is the best boxing coach in the world and should be allowed the freedom to continue. https://t.co/OLRcmCdkWY
— RTÉ News (@rtenews) October 20, 2015
He told Prime Time: "My view now is that deal should be offered to Billy even at this late date and give up the nonsense that's going on now in the IABA about this.
"I'm effectively saying when the new funding round for 2016 comes up, we will have to review our relationship with the IABA.
"What was so unacceptable about the agreement of the 22nd August that it was never put to the board and never put to Billy Walsh even though it was agreed by him - what's the problem?. I don't know what the problem is," he said.
"I want a rethink within the next 24 hours by the IABA of their total approach to this and their acceptance of the agreement we put to them on the 22nd August."
On questions of autonomy for the head coach, Mr Mulvey said that Mr Walsh had never looked for a sole and exclusive right to select boxing teams.
Nevertheless, he said: "It is an extraordinary sport that can decide that high performance boxers are decided by democratic ballot or democratic decision."
He added: "I assume there's a number of great coaches in Ireland, except we have the best coach in the world in Ireland in boxing; his record stands for itself and he should be allowed the freedom and opportunity to continue to do a job.
"Billy Walsh gave up in frustration - all you have to hear is his statement of a man who does not want to go America but is being forced by the petty indignities he was facing in this country."
