The Football Association could scrap FA Cup replays in the third and fourth rounds to allow clubs to play matches that were postponed due to Queen Elizabeth II’s death.
The Premier League, EFL, and women’s leagues all took a break over the weekend to pay their respects to Her Majesty, who died on Thursday afternoon at the age of 96 at Balmoral Castle.
Football at the grassroots level was also postponed as a show of respect, but organisers are now trying to find alternative dates for games in an already full schedule.
The Queen’s state funeral has been confirmed for September 19, which has disrupted upcoming Premier League matches due to security concerns.
The Metropolitan Police and personnel from other departments will converge on the capital for the Queen’s burial, forcing the postponement of Manchester United’s match against Leeds United and Liverpool’s trip to Chelsea.
Meanwhile, Arsenal’s Europa League match against PSV Eindhoven has been cancelled, and Brighton & Hove Albion’s game against Crystal Palace was already postponed due to a rail strike, which has subsequently been cancelled.
Why Are FA Cup Replays Being Scrapped?
To avoid a fixture congestion during the Queen’s funeral and the 2022 World Cup, which will be held between November 20 and December 18, FA Cup replays may be cancelled outright.
According to a report by PA (via The Mirror), football authorities are considering scrapping replays for third and fourth-round matches.
Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, such fixtures were also cancelled in the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, and a similar approach could be taken this time around in the aftermath of the Queen’s death.
Fifth-round replays have not been staged in the FA Cup since the 2017-18 season, while the most recent tournament involving return fixtures in the quarter-finals was the 2015-16 season.
The FA Cup’s third round is scheduled for the weekend of January 7, with the fourth round starting exactly three weeks later.
Related: Arsenal ‘Confident They Can Avoid Forfeiting Their PSV Eindhoven Tie’
Seven of the ten Premier League games scheduled for this weekend will take place, but Arsenal’s London derby against Brentford has been delayed from 2pm to 12pm.
Arsenal are also under pressure to find a new date for their Europa League Group A match against PSV, which UEFA insists must take place before the group round concludes on November 3.
Arsenal may even have to forfeit the game, as happened when Tottenham Hotspur lost to Rennes last season during their COVID-19 cluster.
However, Mikel Arteta’s team are thought to be confident of securing a new date for the game and do not intend to have to forfeit the game before the 2022 World Cup.
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