FAI chief executive John Delaney has revealed that he had to ask FIFA president Sepp Blatter to "move on" after the 79-year-old stared at his girlfriend.

Blatter announced his resignation from his role at the top of football's governing body following the recent corruption scandal, which saw a number of FIFA officials arrested in Zurich last week.

Delaney told RTE Radio One: "He met Emma, my partner, in Vienna recently. He stared at her for seven or eight seconds and he said, 'I approve of your new girlfriend'. I asked him to move on, move on please.

"She is a great girl, I love her very much, it was an extraordinary moment. If she was here she would tell you herself. He stared at her and I said 'move on' and he did."

Delaney recently confirmed that the Republic of Ireland was awarded a settlement by FIFA after a Thierry Henry handball prevented the Irish side from reaching the 2010 World Cup.

Written by
Sian Cowper