At a meeting originally intended to deal with the finer points of what amounted to its own abolition, the FAI's Board of Management will instead consider the fate of the association's chief executive and several of its officers when the 22-strong committee gathers this afternoon at Citywest.
Quite how the agenda for this afternoon's meeting, which is scheduled to get under way at four o'clock, will shape up remains far from clear but it is expected that the mounting problems between Fran Rooney and his critics amongst the officer board will comfortably overshadow all other business.
There was talk from those close to both camps of votes of no confidence being proposed and a number of observers now feel that the dispute has now reached the point where resignations from one or the other are both unavoidable and, regardless of who prevails, even desirable in order to ensure some sort of unity at the top of the organisation.
The current problems came to light last week after a dispute in relation to the terms of Rooney's employment became public.
While John Delaney has supported the chief executive, a majority of the association's officer board have opposed what they view as excessive demands in relation to bonuses by the man recruited to lead the organisation five months ago but, they insist, the problems go further, with Rooney's management style also representing a major source of dissatisfaction.
There are counter claims from the Rooney camp of conservatism amongst the officers and, in particular, opposition to the implementation of the Genesis report, although these allegations are strongly denied.
After a flurry of publicity in the middle of last week there were suggestions that both sides might be willing to reach a compromise that would avoid further conflict but over the weekend, when FAI president Milo Corcoran and Rooney exchanged letters that were copied to all 22 members of the board, positions appear to have hardened and it now appears that the matter may come to a head today.
There were various estimates of the levels of support enjoyed by the respective camps yesterday with most observers putting them roughly level on about half a dozen each.
Rooney's side received something of a boost yesterday when Brian Kerr said on RTÉ television that the chief executive deserved the time to get things right and the support of those around him as he settled into the job. It still appears, however, there will be a huge amount to play for at what promises to be an eventful meeting.
Shelbourne, meanwhile, have had their protest in relation to their recent Carlsberg FAI Cup tie with Sligo Rovers upheld by an FAI committee set up to deal with the matter.
In a statement issued last night members of the committee said that FIFA rules had been disregarded and that Gareth Gorman should have been sent off when referee Dave McKeon showed him a second yellow card late in the game.
They decided, however, that "in the interests of fair play," no replay should be ordered and so Sligo Rovers will play Galway United on Saturday week in the quarter-finals of the competition.
Shelbourne chief executive Ollie Byrne said last night that he was satisfied with the outcome of the process but insisted the decision was one that the association should have reached without the club having to become directly involved.
It is likely that the Dubliners will seek damages over the referee's error which have potentially cost the club anything up to €100,000 in lost revenue.
Meanwhile, the eircom League's security committee will meet this morning to consider the crowd trouble that followed Monday night's Dublin derby between Shamrock Rovers and Bohemians.
