Pep Guardiola wants end to FA Cup replays

Pep Guardiola

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola wants FA Cup replays scrapped, arguing they add too many extra games to an already-congested schedule. Guardiola has claimed English football authorities have ignored a request from managers to reduce the load on players, suggesting those responsible for running the game are too busy thinking about commercial demands.

The Football Association scrapped replays for the final in 1998, for the semi-finals in 1999, and for the quarter-finals at the start of last season. Yet Guardiola, who takes his quadruple-chasing team to Cardiff City for a fourth-round tie on Sunday, wants them to go further still. "I would like the Carabao Cup (English League Cup) semi-final to be one game (rather than over two legs), and I would like the FA Cup ties to be one game and no replays, like I think all the managers do. But that is not going to happen. That is not going to change.

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