FA Cup replays face the axe to ease congestion
FA CUP third and fourth-round replays could be scrapped for the third year running to fit in the matches postponed following the Queen’s death last Thursday. Football at all levels was shut down last week and three Premier League games will not be played this weekend, Chelsea v Liverpool and Manchester United v Leeds United due to concerns over police resources, and Brighton v Crystal Palace because of a planned train strike which will not now take place. Tomorrow’s Europa League game between Arsenal and PSV Eindhoven has also been called off. The situation, coupled with the winter World Cup in Qatar, leaves clubs facing a fixture pile-up later in the season.
Officials have been examining the calendar for potential dates and some believe ditching FA Cup replays should be considered. No talks have taken place and the dates remain in the diary.
That could change, although there is a reluctance to deny cash-strapped smaller clubs the opportunity for potentially money-spinning replays. Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola, speaking ahead of tonight’s Champions League clash with Borussia Dortmund, bemoaned the situation and revealed his side’s Premier League game at Arsenal next month could be postponed so the Gunners can rearrange their match with PSV.
Guardiola said: ‘The fixtures are so tight every season. Now it is different because the players will stop for the World Cup and have a break in winter time.
‘After this month’s international break, we will have a month and a half with a lot of games. We have seven Premier League games, although it depends if the Arsenal match is postponed. Then it is the World Cup. We will see how the players come back from that, especially their moods — good or bad, depending on what has happened with their countries — and after that, in the last three or four months of competition, we do all we can to be there at the end.’