14 Oct 2008Wells sacked as IFA chief executive

Football Leagues/ Association and Governance

The Irish Football Association (IFA) has confirmed that Howard Wells has been relieved of the position as chief executive.

Though the announcement of the sacking was made relatively suddenly and when all the attention were on Northern Ireland's recent poor performance against Slovenia, it had been reported back in August that Wells had lodged a grievance complaint against the IFA.

According to the former Watford and Ipswich chief executive, his former employers treated him unfairly simply because he was English, while the matter of an unpaid £30,000 bonus on top of his alleged £100,000 salary is also believed to have remained an issue of contention.

However, the statement released by the governing body stopped short of going into detail, even failing to mention Wells by name.

It simply read: "The Irish Football Association has terminated the employment of its chief executive in the best interests of the association and the member clubs."

Wells' last public outing in the position was at the press conference following Northern Ireland's 2-0 defeat on Saturday, a result which has placed their qualification efforts for the next World Cup in jeopardy.

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