Government demands answers over scrapping Cup replays as FA dubbed ‘spineless’

Spokesman says ‘David and Goliath fixtures’ are part of competition’s magic and supporters deserve a fuller explanation

Downing Street has demanded an explanation from the Football Association and Premier League over the scrapping of FA Cup replays amid a growing revolt against the “spineless” decision.
As the FA sought to quell the civil war that has broken out about a deal with the world’s richest league that has also seen the Cup final lose its traditional place in the calendar, a spokesman for the Prime Minister said it was “incumbent” on the two bodies to justify the move to supporters.
The intervention by Number 10 came after the FA was accused by a member of its own FA Cup committee of keeping the football pyramid in the dark about Thursday’s announcement of the controversial changes.
A government spokesman said: “David and Goliath fixtures are a part of the magic of the Cup. We know that replays have been a welcome source of income for smaller clubs throughout the years. These are, however, decisions for the footballing authorities. But clearly it’s incumbent on the FA and Premier League to explain this decision and why it is in the interests of fans.”
Thursday’s announcement that Cup replays were being scrapped from the first round proper – a decision driven by the relentless expansion of the Champions League and Club World Cup – triggered open rebellion among English Football League clubs.
Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh is an EFL director, the vice-chair of the FA’s Challenge Cup committee, and a member of the Professional Game Board (PGB) the FA claimed on Thursday had “approved” a calendar that included no Cup replays.
He told Telegraph Sport: “There has been outrage and significant upset regarding the cancellation of FA Cup replays.“Last night, it would appear the FA were trying to point the finger of blame at the EFL, which is beyond belief. I am incredulous.
“For the FA to not prepare to take responsibility for its own actions, its own agreements, is spineless.”
EFL clubs have called for a “protest” against the sale by a “hapless” FA of some of what remains of the Cup’s heritage in exchange for £33 million a year – and other concessions – from the Premier League.
The chief executive of the EFL, Trevor Birch, also said on Thursday its support for the scrapping of replays had been conditional upon the delivery of the Premier League’s still-elusive new £900 million football support system.
Kavanagh said: “The agreement is clearly between the FA and the English Premier League. The agreement is clearly to do with easing fixture congestion for clubs in Europe. It is nothing to do with the EFL.
“The response of the FA to name people on FA boards, FA councils, FA committees – they are just trying to hide the truth. To think that people are that naive to believe this is the situation. This is nothing to do with the EFL. The FA made it quite clear the FA Cup is the FA Cup – it is the FA’s product and their tournament to manage and to officiate. If they wish to scrap replays, it is their call. They have told me that.
“I am actually vice-chairman of the FA Cup committee. I didn’t even get a notification on that committee. No real conversations took place on that committee regarding this.
“The FA are trying to shift the finger of blame – they need to take a long, hard look at themselves and go away and think about whether they absolutely represent the full pyramid.”
Kavanagh alleged Mark Bullingham, the chief executive of the FA, had told him clubs would be happy replays would be cancelled, despite their abolition removing a potentially-lucrative form of broadcast and matchday income for clubs outside the Premier League.
“The CEO of the FA told me in a meeting he thought clubs would agree and be happy replays would be cancelled,” Kavanagh said.
“I made it absolutely clear I didn’t agree with that decision and told him that I didn’t feel clubs would agree.
“The last 24 hours proved I was right and my knowledge of football clearly stretches to the lower reaches – that includes the National League by the way. For them, replays are vital. Vital to what goes on.
“The truth is there were conversations regarding FA Cup replays but it was all part of redistribution – it was a conversation around the calendar.
“Everyone knows there were problems around the calendar. It is one of the discussions, one of the tools the EFL had in terms of trying to bring the Premier League to reach an agreement to reach a fairer distribution for the whole of the pyramid.
“Of course, that has been taken away from us as well so we are left empty-handed and for the finger of blame to be sent in our direction is utterly bewildering.”
The EFL has threatened to seek compensation for the loss of replays and the FA said on Friday it would be “sharing more details with clubs very shortly to explain the additional revenue opportunities in the early rounds”.
In an attempt to calm the growing backlash against its announcement, it said: “We have listened to the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and would like to outline the approval process which was undertaken for the 2024-25 professional game football calendar.
“We have been discussing the calendar for the 2024-25 season with the Premier League and EFL for well over a year.
“Removing Emirates FA Cup replays was discussed in the early meetings and all parties accepted that they could not continue. The discussions then focused on how to make all of our competitions stronger, despite having fewer dates available and wanting to maintain player welfare.
“The changes to the Emirates FA Cup achieve this by returning it to a weekend competition on every round, and ensuring that we have exclusive broadcast slots in an increasingly congested calendar.
“To clarify, we have also increased the number of Emirates FA Cup matches that will be broadcast in the early rounds, which will lead to additional guaranteed broadcast revenue for EFL and National League teams. Additionally, we review the prize money annually for the competition, together with representatives from the EFL and PL and will do the same for the 2024-25 season.
“The calendar for next season was approved by the Professional Game Board, which consists of four EFL representatives and four Premier League representatives, last month, and then by the FA board, which includes Premier League, EFL, National Game and grassroots representation. This is the process we undergo every year to approve the calendar.
“We understand the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and we will be sharing more details with clubs very shortly to explain the additional revenue opportunities in the early rounds.
“We will keep this under review as the new calendar begins to ensure that EFL and National League clubs do not lose out.”
In response to Downing Street’s demand, it added: “We have clarified the decision-making process today and explained the new calendar decisions in more detail.”
There was also bemusement at the governing body about the accusations made by Kavanagh, whose committee memberships are publicly listed on its website.
It added: “Our statement today outlines the decision making process to approve the new calendar.
“The Professional Game Board was part of the approval process and the membership of the Professional Game Board is in the public domain and listed on the FA website.”