FA Cup replays are being scrapped next season, ending 150 years of tradition and sparking calls for EFL clubs to be compensated for lost revenue.
The Football Association announced the format change on Thursday morning as it confirmed a new agreement with the Premier League which will increase funding to the grassroots game by up to an extra £33million per season.
The FA’s chief executive Mark Bullingham said the new format – which includes fifth-round ties reverting to weekends after five seasons in midweek, and the final being played on the penultimate weekend of the Premier League season – would strengthen the FA Cup.
Changes to the domestic calendar were inevitable given the expansion of the Champions League from next season, and although replays’ days have appeared numbered for some time, a Football Supporters’ Association poll last summer found 69.5 per cent of fans still saw them as an important part of the FA Cup.
The FSA has relayed the “serious concerns” of fans about the loss of replays to the FA, while the EFL expressed frustration and disappointment over how it has felt sidelined on the detail around such a pivotal calendar decision affecting its clubs, particularly since talks over its own financial settlement with the Premier League stalled earlier this year.
The EFL will now seek to discuss the mechanisms within the new agreement to ensure its clubs do not lose out financially from the loss of replays.
The FA’s statement said the Professional Game Board – which includes four EFL representatives including its chairman Rick Parry – had approved the overall calendar for next season containing the changes.
Sources close to the EFL insist that although there was broad agreement on the calendar at the Professional Game Board level, the EFL had not been privy to discussions around the mechanisms to ensure the changes did not cause its clubs financial detriment.
The sources also insisted it was not true that the EFL’s own board had approved the changes, only that it had been appraised of what was discussed at the Professional Game Board. The timing and content of Thursday’s announcement is understood to have taken the EFL and its clubs by surprise.
The FSA, which has held regular meetings with the FA over the cup’s format, said: “It’s clear today’s announcement about the FA Cup has not gone down well with a lot of fans up and down the country.
“Supporters are concerned that the changes to the FA Cup will further diminish what makes the competition enduringly popular – namely its history, heritage and tradition.
“While we recognise the footballing calendar is coming under impossible strain – due to the increasing bloat of FIFA and UEFA competitions – recent surveys of both our members and National Council revealed serious concerns about loss of replays and the impact that could have on the magic of the competition.
“The FA Cup is the oldest domestic cup competition in the world, an asset of national importance, and we have shared those concerns with the FA as its primary custodians.”
EFL chief executive Trevor Birch said: “Whilst the league had previously been involved in discussions over the future of the calendar, these were predicated on the agreement of a new financial deal with the Premier League for EFL clubs which has not progressed.
“This is frustrating and disappointing given the calendar is a shared asset across football and as we have consistently said a whole game approach is required to find solutions to complex fixture scheduling challenges.
“Our domestic calendar has been put under extreme pressure by the expansion of UEFA competitions and ultimately this represents another lost traditional revenue stream for EFL clubs at a time when the financial gap between the biggest clubs and those further down the pyramid is growing bigger than ever.
“We will now be discussing the implications for EFL clubs and seeking appropriate compensation arrangements.”
The EFL announced on January 24 that it would not make any changes to the format of next season’s Carabao Cup until a new financial deal had been agreed. That leaves open the strong possibility of clashes between that competition and UEFA dates next season.
FA sources have challenged the notion that replays are major revenue earners for lower-league clubs.
Of the 19 third and fourth-round replays in the last 10 years where an EFL side was away to a Premier League team, 12 had an attendance of over 25,000. Only a very small percentage of first and second-round replays over the same period achieved attendances of over 7,000.
While the FA Cup final will not be the last domestic fixture of the season, as was the case for many years, there will not be Premier League matches scheduled on the same day.
The late May Bank Holiday weekend has been ringfenced for the EFL play-offs.
The mid-season break has also been scrapped in order to allow the 2024-25 Premier League season to start in mid-August. It is hoped the longer break will ensure top-flight clubs are able to give their players a consecutive three-week rest.
Motta revels in ‘team victory’ as Juventus overcome Udinese
Thiago Motta hailed Juventus’ 2-0 triumph at Udinese as a real “team victory” as the Bianconeri snapped their three-match winless streak.
Following a Champions League defeat and two league draws, Juve moved up to third in the Serie A standings with a comfortable triumph at Bluenergy Stadium.
An own goal from goalkeeper Maduka Okoye and a strike from Nicolo Savona handed Juve victory, as they went unbeaten through their first 11 matches of a Serie A season for the first time since 2020-21.
"This is a team victory, because we interpreted the match in the best way," Juve coach Motta told DAZN.
"In the first half, we could have played a bit more because Udinese allowed us to build from the back, the initial build-up.
"We moved the ball around and sometimes found some very interesting situations, but we lacked some depth at that moment, especially with our wingers
"Udinese have great confidence at the moment, we were good at compacting and playing."
Juventus next play at Lille in the Champions League on Tuesday before hosting cross-city rivals Torino in next Saturday's Turin derby.
"Today we have to enjoy this important victory for us and recover in view of Tuesday when the Champions League returns," Motta added.
"It will be very interesting to play against Lille. They have an extra day of recovery because they played yesterday, we will have to rest well to face this match well."
Gen Sec Dennis Chung defends JFF’s decision to rehire Busby; labels media allegations as “witch hunt”
Jamaica Football Federation (JFF) General Secretary Dennis Chung has defended the decision to rehire Hubert Busby Jr as the senior Reggae Girlz Head coach, as he pointed out that the country’s governing football body conducted due diligence before moving forward.
Chung’s declaration is in response to an article published by British daily newspaper The Guardian, alleging that the JFF misrepresented Busby’s reinstatement, stating that he was cleared of sexual misconduct allegations by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
He dismissed the article published on Friday and headlined “Jamaica FA falsely claims women’s team coach was cleared of alleged sexual misconduct” as a “witch hunt” and accused the outlet of distorting facts and overlooking critical details.
This, as the article cast doubt on Busby’s “clearance,” noting that Fifa’s Ethics Committee had closed the preliminary investigation due to a statute of limitations without formally exonerating him.
SportsMax.Tv obtained a copy of the correspondent from the Investigatory Chamber of Fifa's Ethics Committee stating that the investigation against Busby was closed based on information available. An email titled 'Fifa Clearance Letter' was also obtained, the content of which clarified that Busby was clear to seek employment.
Since the article surfaced, SportsMax.Tv has been reliably informed that Busby is in the process of filing a defamation lawsuit against someone in the UK. It is not clear if the individual is an employee at the British newspaper.
Busby was reappointed Reggae Girlz Head coach earlier this year, after he was initially suspended by the JFF in 2021, when the allegation of sexual misconduct was brought against him by former player Malloree Enoch.
Enoch alleged that Busby made sexual advances towards her during his time in charge at the Vancouver Whitecaps women’s outfit between 2010 and 2011. Busby denied the allegations.
“Do you think that the JFF, which is the organisation that dismissed Busby when the allegation was made, wouldn’t have done our due diligence? The technical committee received information to say that the investigation has closed and there was nothing based on the information that they had; there was nothing to support what was alleged,” Chung told SportsMax.Tv.
“The letter had stated that Fifa closed the investigation based on the information available. They never referred to any statute of limitations, as the article said. In addition to that, there was an email that Busby forwarded from Fifa stating that he could share it with us for employment purposes,” he added.
Chung clarified that contrary to the statement that he declined multiple requests for interviews and comments, he only received one call from a Guardian journalist, whom he directed to Busby or his legal representatives.
“They said that they reached out to me multiple times; that is not true. They called me once, and I told them, just like any organisation would, that Busby is a staff member and I am not at liberty to discuss his situation or give out any information on him. I told them they should call Busby, as it is he they need to get that information from,” Chung shared.
Chung also rubbished the claim in The Guardian article that several witnesses—including Enoch—were not interviewed by Fifa’s Ethics Committee.
“Does that make sense? If she is the one that made the allegations, do you think Fifa wouldn’t interview her? So what it is, it’s a witch hunt that they are on; it is almost as if they are saying he is still guilty even though the investigation is closed, and that is totally ridiculous,” Chung opined.
Finally, Chung said he is deeply disappointed by the article, which he believes unfairly targets Busby. He also expressed the view that the report adds unnecessary scrutiny to an issue that the JFF and Fifa have already addressed through established protocols.
“I don’t understand what it is about, but there is obviously something behind it. Because the letter never said the investigation was closed based on the statute of limitation, it said the investigation was closed based on the information that they had,” he noted.
“Not because an allegation is made means you’re going to hold it against a man for the rest of his life. Allegations are made against politicians all over, and they are still in positions of authority. You can’t because an allegation is made against a man; hold it against him, and there is nothing to prove that it happened,” Chung ended.
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 RB Leipzig: Sahin picks up much-needed comeback win
Borussia Dortmund fought back to beat RB Leipzig 2-1 and claim a morale-boosting Bundesliga win for under-pressure boss Nuri Sahin.
Dortmund bounced back from a three-game losing streak in all competitions despite having nine players missing for Saturday's clash at Signal Iduna Park.
Leipzig took the lead when Benjamin Sesko lashed home from a tight angle in the 27th minute, though Dortmund had spurned several gilt-edged chances by that stage.
Dortmund responded within three minutes, though, with Maximilian Beier pouncing onto a loose ball to prod in.
The turnaround was completed when Serhou Guirassy headed in from close range in the 65th minute.
While Leipzig suffered their first league defeat of the campaign, Dortmund sit fifth.
Data Debrief: Sahin's home fortress
Dortmund's troubles this season, at least domestically, have come mainly on the road, but they have been excellent at home and this win continued that form.
Sahin has won each of his first five Bundesliga home games in charge of Dortmund, a feat previously only achieved by Marco Rose (seven wins), who of course was in the opposite dugout on Saturday.
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