The EFL has released a statement revealing there was no consultation with the Football League before the decision to scrap FA Cup replays.
An announcement was made this week to confirm the FA and Premier League had agreed to abolish FA Cup replays from next season, amid concerns over the congestion of the football calendar.
The decision has been greeted with criticism in the lower leagues, who insist FA Cup replays provide teams down the pyramid with a chance to earn revenue through money-spinning ties.
The Premier League has agreed to greater funding for the lower tiers as a result, though the EFL has said there was no agreement with them, or formal consultation, before replays were removed from next season’s competition.
“The EFL wishes to clarify further its position in respect of yesterday’s Premier League and Football Association bi-lateral announcement over the removal of FA Cup replays and the role of the League’s representatives on the Professional Game Board (PGB),” the statement read.
“The agreement which now sees the abolition of replays from the competition format was agreed solely between the Premier League and FA. Ahead of the deal being announced there was no agreement with the EFL nor was there any formal consultation with EFL Clubs as members of the FA and participants in the competition.
“In September 2023, the EFL did initially discuss with Clubs potential changes to the FA Cup format but only as part of a wider and more fundamental change to financial distributions. As is now clear, there has been no movement in this area since September.
“This latest agreement between the Premier League and the FA, in the absence of financial reform, is just a further example of how the EFL and its Clubs are being marginalised in favour of others further up the pyramid and that only serves to threaten the future of the English game.
“The EFL today calls on both the Premier League and the FA, as the Governing body, to re-evaluate their approach to their footballing partnership with the EFL and engage more collaboratively on issues directly affecting our Clubs.”
