Exeter City: Bradford chief executive calls decision to replay FA Cup tie 'a shambles'

Bradford CEO Ryan Sparks called the situation "a shambles"

Bradford chief executive Ryan Sparks says it is "a disgrace" they are having to replay their FA Cup first-round tie at Exeter after the Grecians fielded a sixth substitute in Tuesday's game.

FA Cup rules state teams may not make more than five changes in a tie, including any period of extra time.

Josh Key replaced Sam Nombe for extra time and the hosts went on to win 3-0 after a goalless 90 minutes.

"It's an out and out shambles," Sparks told BBC Radio Leeds.

"The whole situation is an embarrassment to the game and to the FA.

"We are the losers in this situation both financially and logistically. They will hide behind the fact that we've been put back into a competition that we might not have been knocked out of in the first place.

"The whole thing has been treated with so little respect. I find it contradictory that the FA, who are so proud of the magic of the competition and want us to uphold the integrity of it, and there's people that can't even count... It's a disgrace it really is.

"The five individuals involved will be back doing their jobs unscathed at the weekend, while we're plotting another 600-mile round-trip on a Tuesday night, which we will be paying for.

"At the very least this match should be replayed at Valley Parade."

The match will now be played again on Tuesday, 30 November at St James Park (19:45 GMT).

An investigation by the FA's Professional Game Board decided that "the result of the match should not stand".

"The PGB deemed that the most appropriate action would be for the match to be replayed in its entirety," a statement from the Football Association added.

Tuesday's game was already a replay after the League Two sides drew 1-1 at Bradford's Utilita Energy Stadium on 6 November.

The winners will travel to Cambridge United in the second round on Saturday, 4 December.

'It's an honest mistake'

Josh Key's introduction at the start of extra time in place of Sam Nombe was the sixth change made by Exeter City

Exeter City manager Matt Taylor said he and his staff were told by the match officials that they could use a sixth substitute in extra time if all five changes had been made during the 90 minutes.

The decision to replay the tie not only means a 600-mile round-trip for Bradford in 10 days' time, but also that the Grecians will play twice a week for the next four weeks, with the Papa John's Trophy game with Portsmouth due at the end of the month being put back to mid-December.

"We all thought we could use a sixth sub in extra time, we subsequently did so, but it turns out that decision was wrong and we shouldn't have been allowed to do that," Taylor told BBC Sport.

"Bradford tried to make a sixth substitution and that was turned down, so a strange chain of events occurred, and nobody knew what had happened until well after the game when it became apparent on the referee's team sheet."

Taylor was first told there could be a problem in the early hours of Wednesday morning and the FA opened up an investigation later that day.

"I should have done more due diligence as manager, it's my responsibility," he added.

"In the meetings with the officials before the game and during the game the information that was relayed to us was wrong, hence why I think we're still in the competition because we've not tried to cheat the system.

"It's an honest mistake and it's not just ourselves who've made that mistake, but we feel the brunt of that responsibility because it's ourselves who've ultimately been punished."

Bradford manager Derek Adams did not want to comment on the FA's decision to replay the game, but did confirm that the red card shown to striker Lee Angol during the match will stand.