FA Cup Without Replay, "The Collapse of Our Football"

Clubs in the bottom division of the English football pyramid have been vocal about the decision to cancel the FA Cup replay.

AP/JON SUPER

Manchester City players celebrate their victory as champions of the 2022-2023 FA Cup at Wembley Stadium in London, England on Saturday (3/6/2023) evening. City emerged victorious with a 2-1 score over Manchester United in the final.

The FA Cup, the biggest and oldest domestic football competition in the world, is at a crossroads. This happened after the English Football Federation (FA) decided to abolish the replay rule starting next season.

Negative reactions are coming from the lowest club in the English competition pyramid. The scent of collapse is in the air. Although it may seem trivial, the format of replay matches turns out to bring great benefits to them.

Every season, there are at least 729 clubs involved in the competition for the FA Cup. The clubs come from 10 divisions based on the English football competition pyramid. The FA Cup, which was formed more than 150 years ago, is known for its magic, often creating moments where lower-division clubs defeat clubs ranked much higher.

One of the sources of the magic of the FA Cup is the policy of a replay in the event of a draw at normal time. The FA Cup was not originally designed with a home-and-away format. Matches are supposed to be played only once at the home team's base, based on a draw.

Also read: Cole Palmer's Proof of Pep Guardiola

The home-away format will be created when the visiting team is able to hold the hosts to a draw. To determine the winner, the visiting team then acts as host in the second match. This is what is meant as a replay (replay) which has become an icon of the FA Cup for many years.

Replay matches often create sacred and rare moments. For example, this season West Ham had to be eliminated after losing in the replay match against Bristol City, who are competing in the Championship Division.

However, the rematch rule has not been applied since the first round until the final. This season, the rematch policy is only applied until the fourth round. Starting from the fifth round onwards, if the score is tied at the end of regular time, the match will be continued to extra time and penalty shootouts.

We strongly condemn the elimination of FA Cup first round replays and beyond.

The FA's decision to eliminate the replay policy starting from the 2024-2025 season, for at least the next six seasons, has drawn strong criticism from the management of England's bottom division clubs. The majority of them think that the FA is more inclined to protect the interests of English Premier League clubs. This accusation arose because the FA only involved 20 clubs, all of whom were participants in the English Premier League, in discussing this decision.

Also read:The Most Prestigious Trophy for Chelsea

”We strongly condemn the elimination of the FA Cup first round replay and beyond. While retrospective consultation is nothing short of an insult, we believe it is necessary, and real compensation should be provided to clubs that were not considered during this process. "We will work closely with the EFL (English football league body which oversees the Championship Division and below) and other member clubs and do everything we can to oppose this decision," wrote Bradford City which competes in League One (League One), the third caste division of English football, in an official statement on the club website.

AP/DAVE THOMPSON

The celebration of Manchester City midfielder Bernardo Silva along with his teammates after Silva scored the second goal in the quarter-final match of the FA Cup between Manchester City and Newcastle at Etihad Stadium, Manchester, on Sunday (17/3/2024) early morning Western Indonesia Time.

Exeter City Experience

Hoarse voices were also expressed by EFL Chief Executive Trevor Birch, who said that the FA's decision is disappointing and frustrating. According to Birch, the cancellation of replay matches could potentially disrupt the revenue stream of lower division clubs in England. The economic impact they experience by successfully holding a draw against a big club at their home ground and then becoming the host is very significant.

Exeter City had this experience in the 2004-2005 season. At that time, Exeter was in debt of 4.5 million pounds sterling and they had the opportunity to change their fate by visiting Manchester United in the third round of the FA Cup. At that time, MU was still strengthened by Cristiano Ronaldo, who was on the rise.

Also read: Manchester United's Path to Glory Restoration

Exeter, who plays in the fifth division of England, unexpectedly succeeded in holding Manchester United to a 0-0 draw. In the rematch at Exeter's home ground, St. James Park Stadium, Manchester United did manage to lead 2-0. However, the economic impact felt by Exeter was enormous, so the pain of being knocked out was no longer felt as unbearable.

After facing MU, Exeter received a funding of 800,000 pounds sterling. The fresh funds from ticket sales and broadcasting rights became a catalyst for Exeter to pay off its debts. Three years later, Exeter successfully competed again in EFL.

AP/DAVE SHOPLAND

Leicester City player, Callum Doyle (right), and Chelsea player, Nicolas Jackson, fight for the ball during the quarter-final match of the FA Cup between Chelsea and Leicester City at Stamford Bridge Stadium, London, on Sunday (17/3/2024).

”That (the decision to cancel the replay) is a loss for the clubs who will miss it next season. This means a lot to us because it is a revenue stream that has never been experienced before. "Just as importantly, fans will not have the opportunity to witness the acts of carnage that made the FA Cup what it once was," said Exeter Club President Julian Tagg, quoted from The Athletic.

Through this statement, Tagg equated the elimination of the FA Cup replay as the downfall of English football. So far, the disparity between the bottom division clubs and the Premier League is too wide. Only in the FA Cup did they get the chance to change their fate. It is natural that these clubs feel that they are being backed away by a policy whose formulation process did not involve them.

Also read: Requited Love from Bernardo Silva

Meanwhile, FA stated that the decision to cancel the rematch match was made by considering the condition of the players amidst a schedule of increasingly packed matches. Next season, UEFA will introduce a new format of the European Champions League consisting of 36 clubs from 32 clubs in previous seasons.

In addition, there are increasingly more European club competitions with the launch of the Europa Conference League since 2021. This means there will be more teams in the English Premier League who have the opportunity to compete at the European level. This is not including FIFA's move to change the Club World Cup format with more participants next season.

AP PHOTO/DAVE THOMPSON

Manchester United player, Kobbie Mainoo (left), vies for the ball with Liverpool player, Wataru Endo, in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup at Old Trafford Stadium, Manchester, Sunday (17/3/2024). MU won 4-3 in that match.

Looking at the situation, FA CEO Mark Bullingham insists that the decision to cancel the FA Cup replays is made for the common interest and greater good. "The new agreement between the FA and the Premier League strengthens the FA Cup and provides this very special tournament with an exclusive weekend amidst a increasingly busy calendar," he said.

However, the decision has been made and the rice has become porridge. Lower division clubs in England can now only lament and accept this reality while cursing deeply, "This is the moment of the collapse of our football."