Guardiola seeks end to FA Cup replays

manchester — Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants FA Cup replays scrapped, arguing they add too many extra games to an already-congested schedule.

Guardiola has claimed English football authorities have ignored a request from managers to reduce the load on players, suggesting those responsible for running the game are too busy thinking about commercial demands.

The Football Association scrapped replays for the final in 1998, for the semi-finals in 1999, and for the quarterfinals at the start of last season.

Yet Guardiola, who takes his quadruple-chasing team to Cardiff City for a fourth-round tie on Sunday, wants them to go further still.

“I would like the Carabao Cup (English League Cup) semifinal to be one game (rather than over two legs), and I would like the FA Cup ties to be one game and no replays, like I think all the managers do. But that is not going to happen. That is not going to change.

“We are going to play in ties and have replays and have extratime, and that is going to happen in the future.”

Asked if he felt there was anything that managers could do to rectify that situation, the Spaniard said: “Absolutely not. The business show must go on.

“All the managers say there are a lot of games, and no time for recovery. There are a lot of injuries. We know that there are a lot of games. It’s what it is.

“We had meetings in pre-season with the big bosses, and all the managers spoke about that. And they listened, and that’s all,” added the former Barcelona and Bayern Munich boss, who was speaking before top-flight rivals Tottenham Hotspur were taken to a FA Cup replay after a 1-1 draw away to fourth-tier Newport County on Saturday.

Meanwhile Guardiola said City would need to spend significantly more than they have already to assemble a squad capable of completing an unprecedented quadruple of Champions League, Premier League, FA Cup and League Cup in one season.—