Chairman wants clubs to 'take a stand' over FA Cup

Lincoln City chairman Clive Nates ahead of the Imps' FA Cup quarter-final at Premier League giants Arsenal in 2017

Lincoln City chairman Clive Nates is calling on fans and lower league clubs to “take a stand” against the decision to revamp the FA Cup.

Replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards in 2024-25 and all rounds will be played on weekends.

Mr Nates, who knows how the competition can inspire a generation following the Imps’ run to the quarter-final in 2017, described the change as “awful”.

The FA defended its decision, insisting "all parties accepted that they [replays] could not continue".

The cash injection from cup replays is a welcome boost to a lower league club's coffers.

Lincoln City shocked the footballing world as a National League side, claiming Championship and Premier League scalps along the way in the form of Ipswich, Brighton and Burnley respectively.

However, the run would not have been possible without a replay against Ipswich and Nathan Arnold’s last-gasp winner at the second attempt at Sincil Bank in front of the TV cameras.

'No consultation'

Speaking to BBC Radio Lincolnshire, Mr Nates claimed there had been no consultation with clubs outside the Premier League.

He said: “What the Premier League wants is what the Premier League gets as far as the FA is concerned. Never mind that there are another 700 clubs that play in the FA Cup. There’s been no consultation at all with those.”

Grimsby Town released a statement on Thursday saying the fact no club outside the top flight had been consulted “showed scant regard for those clubs that make the English pyramid the envy of most”.

Scunthorpe United also condemned the decision, insisting the move will have a “detrimental effect to any lower league or non-league clubs embarking on a cup run”.

Nathan Arnold celebrates his last-minute winner against Ipswich Town in the FA Cup Third Round replay in 2017

Mr Nates feels the lack of consultation over the decision only adds weight to the call for an independent regulator. He urged fans and clubs to take a stand.

He said: “The FA is simply not doing the job that it should be doing, which is to do the best for all clubs in the pyramid and beyond. That’s why a regulator is the only thing that can save English football.

“I think the EFL should react to this decision that they don’t appear to have been involved with. It’s up to clubs and fans.

“We often hear about the part German fans have in seeing that the game is run in the way they want it. Maybe English fans and we, as lower league clubs, are too passive.

“I hope this is the catalyst for action from lower league and non-league clubs and fans generally to say that this is enough.”

In a statement, the FA said: "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 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."

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