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Nixon: FA may have 'sold their soul' over Cup replay controversy
John Nixon has accused the Football Association of "selling its soul" to the Premier League over the FA Cup controversy.
The Carlisle United director, who sits on the FA Council, has made a number of critical comments about the situation.
Nixon said he was informed about the decision to abolish replays in the famous competition only four minutes before it was announced.
And the former Blues owner has also expressed his "disappointment" that his concerns have not yet brought a reply from League One's representatives on the EFL board.
The News & Star invited Nixon to comment on Thursday's hugely controversial move to axe replays from the first round proper onwards of next season's FA Cup.
Instead on Friday evening he issued his take on the matter via United's website.
Nixon said that the prospect of stopping replays in the early rounds proper had been discussed without anything been agreed, and that he felt it would come back on the agenda "when we looked at agreeing a new deal for redistribution of money with the Premier League".
The United man added: "I’ve been out of the loop on the internal EFL board discussions since last June after leaving the EFL board, but as an FA Council member I got an email from the FA at 10.56am yesterday saying that an announcement would be coming out at 11am.
“By the time I saw the email, it had already come out. It was an announcement between the FA and the Premier League saying that they were scrapping replays and putting more money into grass roots football.
“I was immediately concerned about it. The notice that came out [on Thursday] didn’t mention the EFL, it was only an agreement between the FA and the Premier League.
“When it came out and it said that there would be no replays, I knew there had been no consultation, but it did indicate that it had gone through the Professional Game Board and the FA Board. People at the EFL must have known about it, so I was really concerned.
“I immediately wrote to the EFL reps for League One, Jez Moxey from Burton Albion and Steve Curwood from Fleetwood Town, to say I thought the lower league clubs had been terribly let down and I felt uncomfortable about it. I haven’t had a reply from them which I’m also disappointed by."
Nixon did not reveal whether he would be in favour of a boycott of the competition by lower-league and non-league clubs, which according to a report by Mail Online is one of the options being considered.
He did, though, question why clubs were not consulted on the move - and raised the suggestion the FA have been short-changed over such a fundamental and controversial change to the Cup.
“The FA look as though they’ve only got £33m extra in funding out of it. It all worries me, I don’t like it," he added.
“I also contacted Richard McDermott who is the FA secretary last night to ask him to raise the issue at our next FA Council meeting in May, which will be my last meeting.
“Richard came back to me this morning and said I can raise it to the CEO and the Chair, which is great, so I’ve got a slot for the meeting on May 10.
“I don’t know why it wasn’t considered that we could have had replays until maybe the third round, or why clubs weren’t consulted on any of this when it must have been known."
Nixon added: “I have a real concern because the Premier League are dictating to the FA. They are dictating the timings and replays and how the FA Cup is being run.
“I think the whole thing should be reconsidered. If the FA, as they told me [on Friday morning], are still in charge of the FA Cup, then they can reconsider it. If they aren’t and if they have sold their soul for £33m, then the Premier League will tell them they can’t do anything about it.”
