and the IRFU parts were financially as planned, the FAI found itself in severe debt. The main scheme to pay for the FAI elements of the work, the Vantage Club for high-income fans, massively under-delivered on advance ticket sales, partly due to the declining economic climate after the Irish financial crisis and partially to the over-pricing of the ticket offering. Handball incident and aftermath When FIFA offered Ireland a Fair Play Award following 2009's France v Republic of Ireland play-off, Delaney respectfully declined and said FIFA President Sepp Blatter was "an embarrassment to himself and an embarrassment to FIFA". On 4 June 2015, it was revealed by Delaney that FIFA had paid the FAI €5m to stop legal action against them after their controversial World Cup play-off defeat in 2009. 2012–2017 In 2012 Delaney cut all FAI staff wages by 10% and announced he would do the same with his wages. However, in March 2019 it emerged that the FAI had awarded him a benefit-in-kind payment of €3,000 a month towards a house in Kilmacanogue, rented from Grainne Seoige. This outraged the staff as he already earned more than €300,000 annually more than most of them. In 2012 the Republic of Ireland qualified for their first European Championship since 1988, under Giovanni Trapatoni, and in 2016 they also qualified for the same championship in France, under Martin O Neill, and advanced to the last 16 of the tournament. Delaney was elected to the executive committee of UEFA in April 2017. 2019 In late March 2019 the FAI announced that Delaney had resigned as CEO, and would take up a specially-created new position of Executive Vice-president, reporting directly to the Board rather than the CEO, and with responsibility, among other things, for international affairs. On 10 April 2019, Delaney was part of an FAI delegation appearing before the Oireachtas Committee on Sport, but after reading a prepared statement, declined to take questions or speak further. Delaney remained on full pay in his new role until 28 September, when the FAI announced that he had resigned from the role of Executive Vice-president and all FAI roles, with immediate effect. Delaney resigned his UEFA executive committee membership in January 2020. Other roles Delaney became a member of the executive committee of the Olympic Council of Ireland in 2005. He was re-elected unopposed as Second Vice-president of the OCI in 2008. He resigned from