Floriana FC are seriously considering a request for compensation after the sudden departure of Irish coach Roddy Collins.

The Irishman was contracted to Floriana FC after he moved from Dublin last summer. Since he took over, the Greens had quite a good start to the season, but soon after he left early last week, they collapsed to a humiliating 6-2 defeat last Friday at the hands of leaders Qormi.

Reports from Ireland indicate that Collins is on the verge of becoming coach of Irish club Cork City, but the latter need to get the release from Floriana before they can make their move.

And the Greens are not expected to effect the release of their coach unless some form of compensation is paid to them.

Before last Friday’s match, the Greens made it clear in a statement on their official website that Collins was still contracted to them despite his departure.

Collins told RTE Radio in Dublin last Thursday that he had been hoping to get the release letter from Floriana on that day to take over at Cork.

The reports from Dublin, however, indicate that Cork club owner Tom Coughlan is currently serving a one-year ban and this is hampering the move. He had been hit with the suspension and a fine of euros 5,000 by the Disciplinary Committee of the Association - for bringing the game into disrepute. He is now challenging the decision in the High Court.

Collins is reported to have left Malta as his family failed to settle down. Some reports also said that he was angry with Floriana as he had not been paid his October wages. Yet, the Greens have denied this.

In the meantime, it is known that Cork City are also facing trouble with the Football Association of Ireland (FAI). According to reports in Ireland, their players have not yet been paid what they were promised and will possibly be thrown out of the FAI league if the debts are not paid immediately.

Yesterday, it was known that Floriana’s former player Zoran Popovic was expected to be named club coach.

Popovic, who is already in Malta, had formed part of the Floriana squad in season 1993/94 as one of their foreigners, together with Mark Miller, now coach of Hibernians.