DUBLIN (Reuters) - FIFA President Sepp Blatter's public mockery of a confidential Irish request to be added as the 33rd team in the 2010 World Cup helped trigger a controversial 5 million euro payout, the Football Association of Ireland (FAI) said on Friday.
FIFA on Thursday said it had made the payment to avoid threatened Irish legal action following a controversial World Cup playoff defeat in 2009 when the decisive goal was scored after a handball by French striker Thierry Henry.
But a detailed description of the events leading up to the payout released by the FAI on Friday made repeated reference to Blatter's comments at a major soccer conference days after the game, which enraged Irish fans, as a factor in the payout.