Real Football Man All of the Football, All of the time
If I was to ask this question “Did you forget that Hull were playing Arsenal Tonight in the F.A. Cup 5th Round Replay Tonight” and the answer was Yes than I would say the stature has fallen quite a bit.
The main reason for that in general but even more so Tonight is the Champions League. The F.A. were reprimanded by UEFA for scheduling this Cup tie on the same night as a Champions League Midweek which is a strict breach of UEFA guidelines.
The F.A. had answered back with the fact that the current fixture schedule at the moment is untenable, with the 6th Round taking place this Weekend it seems as if they were damned if they did and damned if they didn’t but ultimately the fixture had to take place especially with Arsenal still in the Champions League themselves.
The F.A. haven’t quite got all their own way though as UEFA have made Hull and Arsenal kick off at the slightly irregular time of 7pm so that there isn’t a direct clash with the two Round of 16 ties taking place this evening.
But ultimately this is what it boils down to. If you’re a neutral do you want to watch Hull vs Arsenal at The KC Stadium or Real Madrid vs Roma at The Bernabeu. Is it Michael Dawson or Cristiano Ronaldo for your viewing pleasure this Evening.
I think it might be a fair split but it just goes to show how much and probably too much power UEFA wield in the scheduling of English Football. It’s situations like this that continue to make the F.A. Cup more and more of an afterthought.
This may be a rare one off but with a congested fixture calendar it gives more fuel to the fire in regards to replays being scrapped. Tonight being the perfect example as to why. If this situation repeats itself over the next few seasons then it could become more of a legitimate argument.
I’m not condoning it but if there’s to be no flexibility from UEFA then the change will have to come from somewhere. We all spout that cliche about “The magic of the F.A. Cup” but is it a trick we’re now getting tired of seeing?
