Fans fury at loss of 3pm FA Cup ties

THE Football Association have been hit by a storm of criticism after it was revealed that only 10 of the 32 FA Cup third round ties will be played at 3pm on a Saturday. Football Supporters’ Federation chairman Malcolm Clarke claimed the competition has lost its ‘magic’ and wants to meet the FA to discuss their new six-year £820million overseas TV contract, which has caused most of the changes in scheduling. The third round begins on the night of Friday, January 4 with Tottenham travelling to either Tranmere or Southport. Clarke said: ‘There’s a grave danger that they might threaten the magic of the FA Cup. ‘The third round of the FA Cup on the first Saturday in January was always one of the great highlights of the season, and to have less than one third of the games kicking off at three o’clock on Saturday definitely to some extent diminishes the magic of the day.’ of the 32 games in the third round, seven will start at 12.30pm on Saturday. Another five will be played at 5.30pm and six of the seven Sunday games will begin at 2pm. The final tie of the

weekend will be Liverpool’s visit to Wolves on Monday night at 7.45pm. The FA defended the schedule despite widespread criticism from supporters. A statement said: ‘All televised FA Cup matches are scheduled in collaboration with the clubs, the local authorities and the police. A selection of the third-round fixtures have been picked for domestic and overseas television coverage, as part of the new international broadcast deal. The new deal, which began this season, will see more money than ever before reinvested back into English football and prize money doubled to over £30.2m, with a guaranteed £4m distributed to non-league clubs. ‘In addition, the new deal will provide an increased level of investment into grassroots football pitches, facilities and participation programmes across England.’