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Nixon: chances of reversing FA Cup replay decision 'virtually nil'
John Nixon says the prospects of reversing the decision to scrap FA Cup replays are “virtually nil”.
That is despite, the Carlisle United director says, the Football Association admitting the process behind the move was “wrong”.
Nixon, who sits on the FA Council, said he raised the issue of the controversial “side deal” between the FA and Premier League at the latest council meeting.
He said the discussion brought an admission from FA chair Debbie Hewitt that they “didn’t go about the process well”.
Nixon insisted that making the point on behalf of concerned clubs had been important – even if there is little prospect of replays being reinstated.
“I didn’t expect them to listen to us at the meeting on Friday and say that they were going to change their mind,” said Nixon, speaking via United’s website.
“I honestly think the chance of it changing is virtually nil, but I felt it was important to put the point across on behalf of our club and the other clubs who don’t agree with the decision.
“The main point of the meeting on Friday was to ask the FA whether they thought they’d done the right thing for those 710 clubs.
“I think they now think they should have listened to them and consulted with them rather than just taking the money from the 20 richest clubs so they could buy control of the calendar.”
It was announced last month that replays were being abolished from the first round proper onwards.
A host of clubs throughout the pyramid, United included, responded by issuing statements condemning the move.
Nixon added: “When it was brought up [at the FA Council meeting], the FA and Debbie Hewitt did well because they said they fully understood that the FA Cup was about the David and Goliath type games.
“They also acknowledged that they didn’t go about this process very well and probably got it wrong.
“Debbie said she had found that people either had issues with poor communication, the feeling of being cut off because they knew nothing about it, and the heart being ripped out of the FA Cup.
“She acknowledged that everybody she had spoken to fell into those three categories.
“It’s a massive move forward that they acknowledged that they made a mistake in the way it was communicated. Because of that, I think the FA and their leadership have shown they’re taking steps in the right direction."
Nixon said that replays had been “sold” for just £33m and added: “The Premier League have done this side deal and the FA have accepted it because it suits the Premier League.
“I personally think this is all about the Premier League trying to guarantee they can run the FA Cup calendar which they’ve done because they’ve bought it out," Nixon added.
“It’s wrong, because in the FA Cup, there are about 730 teams who are involved in the preliminary rounds from August. Representatives of 20 of those 730 took the decision to stop the replays, and the other 710 weren’t consulted and didn’t even know about it.”
The FA, responding to criticism of the move last month, said the possibility of removing FA Cup replays from the 2024/25 season had been discussed with the EFL months ago “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 FA added.
