Soccer-Angry clubs call on government to protect FA Cup replays

FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football – FA Cup – Third Round – Manchester City v Huddersfield Town – Etihad Stadium, Manchester, Britain – January 7, 2024 The FA Cup trophy is displayed inside the stadium before the match Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith/File Photo/File Photo

LONDON (Reuters) – Campaign group Fair Game and clubs across the country are demanding an amendment to the Football Governance Bill to protect FA Cup replays after a decision to scrap them.

More than 20 club bosses have sent a letter to the British government after the Football Association announced last month that replays would not feature from the first round onwards because of pressure on the calendar.

Smaller clubs say replays are a vital source of income while traditionalists say that scrapping them diminishes the magic of the world’s oldest knockout competition.

The English Football League, which runs the second, third and fourth tiers, said they had not agreed to the changes and that they had been agreed by the FA and Premier League.

The FA said the new calendar was approved by the Professional Game Board, which has representatives from both the Premier League and the EFL, then by the FA Board where the National League and grassroots game was represented as well.

Four-time FA Cup winners Bolton Wanderers are one of the clubs to have signed the letter to Culture Secretary Lucy Frazer backing calls for the amendment which would require a majority of clubs to agree before any change to the competition.

“We want to save the FA Cup. The FA Cup is the oldest football competition in the world and the decision to remove FA Cup replays from the first-round proper further undermines its prestige and does nothing to help protect our cherished football pyramid,” the letter said.

“The Premier League’s influence in this decision is yet another example of football’s growing divide that has seen the gaps between and within divisions grow at all levels.

“Participating clubs in the FA Cup were not consulted. Our clubs as well as the fans have been let down.”

Currently there are no replays from the fifth round onwards, but scrapping them from the first round has provoked anger from clubs further down the pyramid.

Mark Robins, who led second-tier Coventry City to the semi-finals, described the move as a kick in the teeth while there has also been sympathy from Premier League managers.

Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag called the change “very sad for the British football culture.”

Niall Couper, CEO of Fair Game, said the anger over the decision was huge across all levels of football.

“The new regulator needs to step in and reverse that damaging trend that is destroying the game’s heritage and turning the pyramid into a greasy pole,” he said.

The Football Governance Bill, which includes the setting up of an independent regulator, was introduced into Parliament last month and will be voted on by law makers.

Changes to the format of European cup competitions from next season is one of the reasons the already-packed soccer calendar will be further strained.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman; Editing by Christian Radnedge)