FA Cup 5th Round Draw

[easyeasyeasy]

The good thing about it is that it means that REAL FOOTBALL FANS will be able to watch the cup semi's and the final, instead of the prawn sandwich and bubbly brigade in suits.

The FA execs will moan even more if Cardiff get to the final, the thought of a foreign team playing in the final would rile them, and the fact that the opening ceremony would have to include two national anthems, unless they do what the Football League did in the last few years and chicken out of playing any anthems at all.

 

[Fernandez]

I bet you have bet on Cardiff to win the whole thing, just for pure pleasure

 

[easyeasyeasy]

I haven't put a bet on it but I should do, but it would be hilarious if they won the FA Cup, not just would they say about the inability of a Premier League side to win the cup, but also the inability of an English club to win its own domestic competition.

The flipside to this is that the FAW will surely be barracked by the exiles over readmittance to the Welsh Cup, due to the "playing in Europe" factor. I can't see why not, after all, the exiles played in it up until 1995 at which time the Welsh Premier League had been running for three full seasons. Come on FAW sort it out you bunch of old codgers.

 

[easyeasyeasy]

Now this will p*ss the FA off in a big way...

Uefa boss Michel Platini has pledged to help Cardiff if they win the FA Cup, but are refused entry to the Uefa Cup.

The Football Association says Cardiff will not be one of England's Uefa Cup representatives as the club comes under the jurisdiction of the FA of Wales.

"If England don't do anything we will," Uefa president Platini told BBC Sport.

In the most open FA Cup for years, Cardiff play Barnsley in the semis, with the winners due to meet either Portsmouth or West Brom in the final.

"We have to respect the result on the field," added Platini.

Under current FA rules, Cardiff is considererd a Welsh club with full membership of the Football Association of Wales (FAW), but only associate membership of the FA.

"We spoke with the FAW," added Platini.

"I think it is not normal that if they win then they're out. That's not natural and not so good."

Winners of the FA Cup are currently handed a Uefa Cup spot by the FA, who run the competition as a reward for winning it.

Cardiff chairman Peter Ridsdale has hinted the club would challenge the English FA's current rules and regulations.

Cardiff could cite several examples to support their case including:

* Derry City - Based in Northern Ireland but since 1985 have been playing in the Republic of Ireland's competitions and are regarded as a Republic of Ireland club. When they qualify for Europe, they play as a Republic of Ireland team.
* AS Monaco - Based in Monaco, where they are the only side, but play in the French League.
* Berwick Rangers - Based in England but play in the Scottish League and would be accepted as a Scottish club if they qualified for Europe.

When the FAW formed the League of Wales in 1992, Cardiff, Swansea City and Wrexham all decided not to join it choosing to remain playing in the English Football League.

As a result, Uefa decided the clubs would no longer be allowed to compete in the Welsh FA Cup and therefore would not be allowed to qualify for Europe that way.

The FAW agreed with that decision and Uefa take the view that because they play in English competitions, they are English clubs.

Very interesting to see Platini state his intent. But looking at the cases Cardiff could cite, it's a little bit different for them in that they don't have a full membership of the FA, only an associate membership. Monaco and Derry City are, I believe, full members of the FFF and FAI respectively, so they represent the country of the association they are registered with. I still disagree with the exiles' "ban" from the Welsh Cup, after all, Liechtensteiner clubs play in the Swiss league but take part in their own cup competition (not the Swiss cup) and get a place in Europe as a reward.