Derry players admit to dual contracts

The players of Derry City Football Club have admitted to the FAI that they signed two contracts at the Brandywell club.

Following a meeting of the FAI and the Derry players at Abbotstown this evening, the FAI confirmed in a statement that: 'Following a meeting in Abbotstown, the players of Derry City Football Club have put on public record the fact that they had signed two contracts, the standard player's contract and a separate contract on club headed paper.

'As of today, the FAI has accepted these players' assurances that they were not personally aware of any financial irregularities at the club.

'The FAI also recognise the difficulties that have been created by the club in not paying players for the last eight/nine weeks at Derry City FC, and the impact that has on each player and his immediate family.

'The FAI has also confirmed that it intends to send a delegation to Derry, on Thursday, with a view to beginning the process of returning the club to stability, now that the Club Chairman has accepted his untenable position.'

The Derry City players also released a statement following the meeting.

The players said: 'The events of the past week have come as major shock and disappointment to the players of Derry City Football Club.

'Until the allegations of 'dual contracts' were made very recently, no player was aware of the existence of a second document, which contained different figures to the one which we had originally agreed.

'The position is that at the beginning of the contract period, each player was presented with a document on Derry City headed paper which contained income amounts which we each individually agreed with the club.

'With only one exception, no player knowingly signed a second document. It now appears that, what the club had misrepresented to us as a blank registration form containing no figures, terms or conditions was, in fact, a second document upon which different figures were subsequently entered and lodged with the league.

'The full terms of this contract were never made available to the players and we fully believed that the wages which we were being paid were disclosed to the league in accordance with normal practice.

'It has transpired that one of the players was aware of the existence of the second document but had ensured that the figures entered on it were identical to those on the original headed paper.

'No other players were aware of a second document.

'As soon as the players became aware of the situation, we have immediately agreed to set the record straight and we wish to have nothing to do with this wrongdoing. We are deeply distressed at this turn of events and we wish to distance ourselves entirely from the board's conduct.

'We recognise that the actions of the club board have compromised the integrity of the league but we wish to make it perfectly clear that we were not knowing participants in this deception.

'We hope that by addressing these issues and by clarifying our position, the club can now move forward and have a future in senior football.'