During the second meeting on the football regulation bill in Westminster last Tuesday, Tim Farron – former leader of the Liberal Democratic Party – promised to propose an amendment so that the bill would have the power to force the English Football Association (FA). ) must allow the FA Cup to continue to have a replay format.
Farron argued, with the support of MPs in the House of Commons, that all member clubs should have a vote to decide the tournament’s rules. However, this move led to FIFA being able to determine that the FA had suffered “government interference” in running the tournament.
That would violate membership rules. In recent years, FIFA has temporarily suspended the football federations of Zimbabwe, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya and Pakistan because of outside influence.
Recently, there was news that the Spanish Government may take over the country’s Football Federation after the forced marriage scandal of former president Luis Rubiales at last year’s Women’s World Cup final.
This could put Spain at risk of being banned like England, despite the fact that such a punishment is unlikely. Last week, the FA announced a plan to eliminate all FA Cup replays from the 2024/25 season, to reduce the burden on clubs and players. All rounds will now also be played on weekends.
