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Scrapping FA Cup replays would be disrespectful - Wenger

LONDON (Reuters) - Scrapping FA Cup replays would be a sign of disrespect to England's most traditional club competition, Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said on Friday.

Scrapping FA Cup replays would be disrespectful - Wenger
(Reuters)

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Source: Reuters


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The Football Association (FA) and Premier League clubs are considering a number of measures, including scrapping FA Cup replays, in order to trim English football's busy fixture list, according to British media reports.

A lucrative new domestic broadcast deal, worth 70 percent more than the existing one, comes into effect next season and Wenger, who has lifted the FA Cup six times, believes the extra revenue can help clubs cope with fixture congestion.

"This is the most traditional competition in England. Let's respect it and keep it as it is," Wenger told reporters ahead of his side's fifth-round clash against second tier Hull City on Saturday.

"Next season there is even more money coming in. That means every single club will have 25 top-level players. I am convinced that all the clubs can compete with the number of games and there is no real need to change the rules."

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West Ham manager Slaven Bilic, however, feels scrapping replays would add to the competition's allure as it would give smaller clubs a greater chance of causing an upset.

"Are replays giving the FA Cup more respect? I think no. I would get rid of them. The big thing about the FA Cup is it's one game," Bilic told reporters ahead of Sunday's tie against second-tier Blackburn Rovers.

"So it gives smaller clubs a better chance to beat the bigger ones in extra time or on penalties than to play another 90 minutes."

Arsenal are bidding to become the first club since Blackburn in the 1880s to lift the trophy three years in a row and only the third club to do so.

Wenger said midfielder Jack Wilshere, who is yet to feature for the club this season, is "three to four weeks" away from returning to first-team action.

The Frenchman also said back-up goalkeeper David Ospina will start Saturday's FA Cup encounter against Hull.

(Writing by Shravanth Vijayakumar in Bengaluru; Editing by Toby Davis)


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