Vera Pauw: FAI opts not to renew contract of Republic of Ireland manager
- Published
Pauw guided the Republic of Ireland women's team to their first World Cup finals amid controversy
Vera Pauw has left her role as Republic of Ireland boss after her contract was not renewed following the World Cup.
Pauw was named manager in 2019 and guided the Republic's women to their first major tournament in Australia.
The Football Association of Ireland (FAI) elected not to extend her tenure.
There had been controversy surrounding Pauw after allegations around body shaming from 2018, which she denies, and an apparent falling out with Irish captain Katie McCabe at the World Cup.
The Republic exited at the group stage of the World Cup last month after a draw with Nigeria and defeats by Australia and Canada.
At a meeting of the FAI board on Tuesday, it was decided Pauw would not remain as Republic boss beyond the expiry of her current contract at the end of this month.
FAI CEO Jonathan Hill commented: "On behalf of the Football Association of Ireland, we would like to thank Vera for her hard work and commitment over the past four years and wish her well for the future.
"In particular, I wish to acknowledge the role she played in leading Ireland to the Fifa Women's World Cup 2023 where our women's team made history and inspired a nation.
"The future is bright for women and girls' football and our focus now is building upon the work done by Vera and the historic achievements of our women's team, which we see as a platform to support the next phase of the journey for the team, and more broadly the development of women and girls' football in this country."
Dutchwoman Pauw, 60, had openly spoken about her desire to remain in charge and contract talks had started prior to the World Cup.
However, the emergence of an article in the Athletic, which saw Houston Dash players come forward about body shaming allegations, saw those talks go quiet and although Pauw launched a stern defence of her character and denied the allegations, the article overshadowed the Republic's World Cup send-off against France.
Several Irish players refused to publicly back her at the World Cup, and the build-up to their final group match with Nigeria was dominated by questions about her future.
After the match, Pauw, who also said she did not think it would be her last game, appeared to clash with McCabe over the lack of substitutions against Nigeria and said "she is not the coach". The Arsenal full-back responded by tweeting an emoji with a zipped mouth.
After that, it seemed unlikely that her contract would be renewed by the FAI, and that has now come to fruition following a review.
The Republic of Ireland's next match is against Northern Ireland in Dublin on 23 September in the Nations League, which will be the first senior women's international to be held at the Aviva Stadium.