Outgoing Republic of Ireland manager Vera Pauw has accused the FAI of "major mistakes" by interfering in football matters during the 2023 Women's World Cup.
In her first comments since the FAI confirmed on Tuesday night that they would not be offering her a new contract to continue in the role, Pauw also said that it had been indicated to her that a new deal would be agreed before the team departed for Australia and New Zealand.
In a lengthy statement, Pauw thanked the Irish players, staff and fans, but also addressed some of the "noise" surrounding her position as manager.
"My position became very challenging when executives in the FAI, not technical football coaches, effectively took my seat and spoke to staff members and players regarding their roles in the team before and after the World Cup," the statement read.
"My advice - coming from my knowledge and experience - was often disregarded and not respected. In my opinion, no head coach in the world would accept interference of the executives in technical football affairs.
"Unfortunately, trust broke down between me and certain people in the FAI. I believe that the review process which the Association has carried out was flawed and that the outcome was pre-determined.
"Indeed, some discussions were held with players and staff before and during the World Cup which undermined my position and had an impact on our teambuilding process."
The FAI has been contacted for a response by RTÉ Sport.
On the issue of a new contract for the UEFA Nations League games and subsequent Euro 2025 qualifiers, a hot topic ever since Pauw’s side departed the World Cup at the group stage, Pauw said it had been indicated to her that a new deal would be sorted before the tournament.
However, on Tuesday night the FAI board met and ultimately decided not to offer an extension, with Eileen Gleeson subsequently appointed as interim head coach.
"I am conscious that there has been a lot of noise in recent times around my contract and I believe I should make some brief comment," Pauw said.
"I said before the World Cup that I was extremely happy in Ireland and that it was my desire to continue in my role. I entered into discussions with the FAI to extend my contract back in early March and was confident that this process could be concluded quickly.
"At that time I asked Ciarán Medlar [her representative from BDO] to assist me and the process duly began.
"The FAI also expressed their commitment to this outcome and worked with my representative to bring this to a conclusion. I requested that their decision, whatever that may be, would be finalised at the very latest before we went to Australia.
"Despite committing to issuing an offer to me, the FAI re-considered their stated position and I never received the promised offer. I parked the contract discussions while we were in Australia, as my sole focus was the team and the competition."
Pauw also suggested that by this stage she was not expecting a contract renewal, describing the team's World Cup homecoming as "a goodbye from me to all the people in Ireland who have actively supported me."
The Dutch woman, who succeeded Colin Bell as boss back in September 2019, paid tribute to the players and staff she worked with, as well as praising the support she received from the Irish public.
"I have had the opportunity to work with excellent colleagues and players during that time and have truly loved the experiences we have had together and what we have achieved over that time.
"To have qualified for our first World Cup was a true reflection of our progress and was an historic achievement shared by us all. I am so proud of our campaign, from our first qualifying game through to our final match at the World Cup finals.
"It is hopefully only the start of much more to come. While we had hoped for better results on the pitch in Australia, even when faced with our biggest opponents, we demonstrated our growth and our ability to compete at the world’s highest level.
"As an elite coach, losing never sits well with me, but the immense support and congratulations that I have received on our campaign coming from all over the world will have a long-lasting influence on me."
