The English Football League insists the decision to abandon FA Cup replays was made by the Football Association and the Premier League.
This is despite the FA claiming it has been “discussing the 2024-25 season schedule with the Premier League and EFL for over a year” in its latest statement.
The FA’s response follows strong criticism from fans, pundits and clubs, who accused the governing body of leaving clubs outside the Premier League without much-needed revenue due to the scrapping of replays of the first round itself.
The EFL today hit back at the FA’s claims that the body played a role in making the controversial decision, saying the decision “marginalizes” clubs outside the elite and “threatens the ‘future of English football’.
The statement said: “The EFL would like to further clarify its position regarding yesterday’s bilateral announcement from the Premier League and the Football Association regarding the removal of FA Cup replays and the role of League representatives within the Professional Game Board (PGB).
“The agreement which now sees replays removed from the competition format was concluded solely between the Premier League and the FA. Prior to the announcement of the agreement, there was no agreement with the EFL nor any formal consultation with EFL clubs as members of the FA and participants in the competition.
“In September 2023, the EFL initially discussed potential changes to the FA Cup format with clubs, but only as part of a wider and more fundamental change to financial distributions. As is now clear, it does not There has been no movement in this area since September.
“This latest deal between the Premier League and the FA, in the absence of financial reform, is just another example of how the EFL and its clubs are being marginalized in favor of others higher up the pyramid and it only threatens the future of the English game.
“The EFL is today calling on the Premier League and the FA, as the governing body, to reassess their approach to their football partnership with the EFL and engage more collaboratively on issues directly affecting our clubs .
“Another issue is the role of EFL representatives on the Professional Game Board (PGB) in agreeing the overall 2024/25 match schedule. The PGB is there to make technical decisions across the game, as opposed to key political decisions such as changes to competitions or formats.
“Any decision made on the calendar involving representatives of the EFL does not constitute an endorsement of the joint agreement between the FA and the Premier League which imposes changes to the FA Cup competition format in isolation.
“As part of the discussions, EFL representatives challenged the position and were told that clubs would be comfortable without replays.
“They were effectively informed that, because this was an FA competition, the fixture schedule had to be agreed as presented. It is also important to note that this issue was not discussed by the FA Cup Committee, a separate group which oversees the competition across the professional and domestic game.
A number of EFL and non-league clubs also released statements claiming they had not been consulted before the announcement, also criticizing the decision by the FA and Premier League.
This includes League Two Tranmere Rovers executive chairman Mark Palios calling into talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show to express his dismay at the situation.
“There are two problems here,” he said. “One is the decision itself and what it means for the competition, the fans and the lower league clubs.
“The second element is, and you could actually say [this] What is more important are the governance issues and how this was decided.
“That’s the position that we really need to start looking at, particularly in light of the Independent Regulator Bill which is about to be passed through Parliament, because unbeknownst to people, when we sees the governance at stake here, the currently drafted bill only allows the EFL and EPL to increase guarantee rights.
“Now I would say the EFL does not represent all 72 clubs.
“I think the FA have thrown the EFL under the bus by saying ‘well we agree with the Professional Game Board’ and who sits on the Professional Game Board if not the chairman of the EFL [Ricky Parry].
“Yet there has been no consultation with EFL clubs on something that I consider to be relatively important.”
Asked what he thought about the 72 clubs in the Championship, with Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 having no part in the discussions, Palios replied: “Well, I think it’s scandalous.
“I can only assume the reason is that they thought they might have encountered a lot of opposition. That’s the whole point of consultation, to find out people’s opinions!”
On Thursday, Darragh MacAnthony, chairman of League One’s Peterborough United and talkSPORT regular, called on the EFL to “have some minerals” and challenge the FA and Premier League’s decision.
The changes, which also include all rounds played on weekends and a rescheduled final before the end of the Premier League season, will come into effect from next season and last for a minimum of six seasons.
The Premier League has also agreed to pay up to £33 million more for grassroots football.
The English Football League insists the decision to abandon FA Cup replays was made by the Football Association and the Premier League.
This is despite the FA claiming it has been “discussing the 2024-25 season schedule with the Premier League and EFL for over a year” in its latest statement.
The FA’s response follows strong criticism from fans, pundits and clubs, who accused the governing body of leaving clubs outside the Premier League without much-needed revenue due to the scrapping of replays of the first round itself.
The EFL today hit back at the FA’s claims that the body played a role in making the controversial decision, saying the decision “marginalizes” clubs outside the elite and “threatens the ‘future of English football’.
The statement said: “The EFL would like to further clarify its position regarding yesterday’s bilateral announcement from the Premier League and the Football Association regarding the removal of FA Cup replays and the role of League representatives within the Professional Game Board (PGB).
“The agreement which now sees replays removed from the competition format was concluded solely between the Premier League and the FA. Prior to the announcement of the agreement, there was no agreement with the EFL nor any formal consultation with EFL clubs as members of the FA and participants in the competition.
“In September 2023, the EFL initially discussed potential changes to the FA Cup format with clubs, but only as part of a wider and more fundamental change to financial distributions. As is now clear, it does not There has been no movement in this area since September.
“This latest deal between the Premier League and the FA, in the absence of financial reform, is just another example of how the EFL and its clubs are being marginalized in favor of others higher up the pyramid and it only threatens the future of the English game.
“The EFL is today calling on the Premier League and the FA, as the governing body, to reassess their approach to their football partnership with the EFL and engage more collaboratively on issues directly affecting our clubs .
“Another issue is the role of EFL representatives on the Professional Game Board (PGB) in agreeing the overall 2024/25 match schedule. The PGB is there to make technical decisions across the game, as opposed to key political decisions such as changes to competitions or formats.
“Any decision made on the calendar involving representatives of the EFL does not constitute an endorsement of the joint agreement between the FA and the Premier League which imposes changes to the FA Cup competition format in isolation.
“As part of the discussions, EFL representatives challenged the position and were told that clubs would be comfortable without replays.
“They were effectively informed that, because this was an FA competition, the fixture schedule had to be agreed as presented. It is also important to note that this issue was not discussed by the FA Cup Committee, a separate group which oversees the competition across the professional and domestic game.
A number of EFL and non-league clubs also released statements claiming they had not been consulted before the announcement, also criticizing the decision by the FA and Premier League.
This includes League Two Tranmere Rovers executive chairman Mark Palios calling into talkSPORT’s White and Jordan show to express his dismay at the situation.
“There are two problems here,” he said. “One is the decision itself and what it means for the competition, the fans and the lower league clubs.
“The second element is, and you could actually say [this] What is more important are the governance issues and how this was decided.
“That’s the position that we really need to start looking at, particularly in light of the Independent Regulator Bill which is about to be passed through Parliament, because unbeknownst to people, when we sees the governance at stake here, the currently drafted bill only allows the EFL and EPL to increase guarantee rights.
“Now I would say the EFL does not represent all 72 clubs.
“I think the FA have thrown the EFL under the bus by saying ‘well we agree with the Professional Game Board’ and who sits on the Professional Game Board if not the chairman of the EFL [Ricky Parry].
“Yet there has been no consultation with EFL clubs on something that I consider to be relatively important.”
Asked what he thought about the 72 clubs in the Championship, with Ligue 1 and Ligue 2 having no part in the discussions, Palios replied: “Well, I think it’s scandalous.
“I can only assume the reason is that they thought they might have encountered a lot of opposition. That’s the whole point of consultation, to find out people’s opinions!”
On Thursday, Darragh MacAnthony, chairman of League One’s Peterborough United and talkSPORT regular, called on the EFL to “have some minerals” and challenge the FA and Premier League’s decision.
The changes, which also include all rounds played on weekends and a rescheduled final before the end of the Premier League season, will come into effect from next season and last for a minimum of six seasons.
The Premier League has also agreed to pay up to £33 million more for grassroots football.