Grecians' fury at FA Cup changes

Exeter City Football Club and the Exeter City Supporters’ Trust are bitterly disappointed, but not surprised, to learn of the fundamental changes that have been agreed to the format of the FA Cup, with seemingly no consultation of EFL and National League clubs.

New changes to the format of the FA Cup include an end to replays and the final being played during the league season.

Replays are to be dropped from the first round onwards from next season and the final moved to the penultimate weekend of the Premier League campaign, as part of a deal agreed between the FA and Premier League.

The FA said the move had been made in agreement with the Premier League and “in light of changes to the calendar driven by the expanded Uefa competitions”.

An Exeter City spokesperson said: "Our football club, like many others, owes its past, its present and its future to the FA Cup replays that have now been taken away from us by those who sit at the very top of the game.

"The televised replay against Manchester United that helped keep the club alive in the early years of supporter ownership. The trip to Anfield after holding Liverpool to a draw at St James Park. The home replays against Leicester City and Newcastle United on our way to the Quarter Finals in 1981. And so many more.

"That only a select few clubs are allowed to slowly chip away at the very fabric of what makes the English game the envy of most with complete impunity serves only as a reminder of why the Independent Regulator is so desperately needed.

"Exeter City Football Club and the Exeter City Supporters’ Trust condemn the decision to scrap FA Cup replays and call on The FA to suspend these changes with immediate effect until a consultation of all stakeholders has taken place."