Sir Alex Ferguson Tried to Exploit Little-Known Rule to Avoid Playing FA Cup Replay
Sir Alex Ferguson tried to exploit an obscure FA rule to avoid a replay during his time at Manchester United.
Ferguson enjoyed a legendary spell at Man United, winning an impressive 13 Premier League titles.
He also won five FA Cups, with his latest triumph coming in the 2003/04 season.
Ferguson came close to winning the FA Cup in the 2008/09 season until they were eliminated from the competition in the semi-finals by Everton, who won their tie on penalties.
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They beat Southampton, Derby County and Fulham to reach the semi-finals.
Not to mention Tottenham, beating the North London outfit 2-0 at Old Trafford.
Their FA Cup fixture against Spurs was squeezed into a packed-January schedule, with the Scot attempting to exploit a little-known rule to avoid a replay before the clash.
But Ferguson's unprecedented scheme to guarantee Man United's FA Cup tie against Spurs does not go to a replay failed.
He had tried to exploit a law in the competition guidelines to make sure the game would be settled in one match despite acknowledging that it would open the club to allegations of 'not adhering to the principles of the FA Cup or the spirit of it'.
He was so desperate to avoid adding another match to Man United's calendar that he had tried to instigate talks with Spurs about taking advantage of the Football Association's Rule 11a, which stipulates that a game can go into extra-time rather than replays providing the club agree in advance.
The rule was introduced more than 50 years ago to spare amateur clubs the travelling and administrative costs from playing replays in the preliminary rounds.
No professional club had ever applied it, but Ferguson was alerted to the obscure rule by a newspaper column and immediately instructed chief executive David Gill to approach Spur's chairman Daniel Levy.
However, talks between Gill and Levy never materialised after the Man United chief was ascertained from the FA that the application had to be made within a week of the draw.
"Someone has informed me I could apply to the FA to have extra-time," said Ferguson. "It's an interesting one. I've never heard of this in my life. But it's always been there [in the rules]. It's in the articles of the association that both teams can apply to have the game decided [in one game] and notify the referee before the game."
Does the rule still exist?
Rule 11a no longer exists after the FA scrapped replays last year, insisting 'all parties accepted' they could not continue.
A statement from the FA read: "Removing Emirates FA Cup replays was discussed in the early meetings and all parties accepted that they could not continue.
"The discussions then focused on how to make all of our competitions stronger, despite having fewer dates available and wanting to maintain player welfare."
The announcement was met with anger given the tradition of the FA Cup.
Many clubs from the EFL and lower down the football pyramid criticised the FA over their decision to bin replays.
Topics: Sir Alex Ferguson, FA Cup, Football, Man Utd
Nasir Jabbar