Of all the depressing strands of the great FIFA unraveling, there's one that stands out because it simply doesn't fit the pattern. We've had allegations of embezzlement, tax evasion and bribery, but then you come across something like this and it blows your mind.
Basically, as revealed by its chief executive, John Delaney, the FAI was paid €5 million ($5.6 million) -- plus a $400,000 grant -- in "hush money" by FIFA in 2009.
Why? It's all there, in the document. The money -- initially a loan, which essentially turned into a donation when it was written off in 2014 - was "an inducement" to "irrevocably and unconditionally .