Millwall chief Steve Kavanagh accuses FA of 'disgusting' deflection amid FA Cup replay backlash

Millwall chief executive Steve Kavanagh has come out swinging against the FA, accusing them of passing the buck in the recent uproar over the decision to scrap FA Cup replays. As a key figure on the Professional Game Board (PGB) and vice chairman of the FA Cup committee, Kavanagh has denied that either of those bodies signed off on the major changes to the FA Cup.

The controversy erupted following the FA's announcement of significant changes to the beloved FA Cup, including the elimination of replays, as part of a new agreement with the Premier League. The move sparked immediate criticism from clubs and supporters alike, though sparked claims that Millwall chief Kavanagh and his fellow EFL board members on the PGB had also given their approval.

However, Kavanagh has vehemently denied having any input and has criticised the FA for trying to shift the blame onto others. Speaking to Mirror Football, he expressed his frustration, saying: "The first I knew of this announcement was when people were sat around the table [yesterday]."

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"The FA statement is very clear: this is an agreement between the FA and the English Premier League. This has nothing to do with the EFL. We're not party to that agreement and we've not been included in that agreement. We've not been consulted and in fact, I've got no idea what's in that agreement. This is the FA doing a deal with the Premier League, and that's their right, however, it does have impacts on the rest of the pyramid.

"The FA have now done that deal without agreeing any compensation for EFL clubs. For a faceless spokesperson to then go out and try to shift the finger of blame when they're getting flack to the EFL and, more pointedly, naming people such as myself, Rick Parry, Peter Risdale and the clubs as having, in some way, signed this off. That's a deflection of the highest order and it's not true of reality."

Kavanagh admitted that discussions around potentially losing two-legged semi-finals in the Carabao Cup and the possibility of losing FA Cup replays had taken place during previous discussions with the Premier League over the redistributions of funds at the highest level. However, he maintains that no conversations of a similar nature took place during FA Cup committee meetings, though.

Once the changes were revealed to Kavanagh and other members of the PGB, he made it clear in no uncertain terms that clubs would be unhappy to lose replays, only to be told that it would be happening regardless.

The vice chairman of the FA Cup committee stated: "I made it clear to someone at the FA who's on the PGB that their opinion, which was that clubs would be happy that replays are scrapped, was wrong and that it was not my view of clubs' opinions and nor was it mine. But he stood by that position and we were presented with a fait accompli.

"I was told by someone on the FA, the FA Cup is the FA's tournament and they make the decisions on it. So, how can they now start pointing the finger at people on the EFL and suggesting that, in some way, we're responsible?

"What the FA should be doing is take responsibility for their decision, take responsibility for the agreement they have entered into with the Premier League, stand up and, if there's flack, take that flack and then tell us what compensation they're going to pass down to the whole pyramid."

"I'm the vice chairman of the FA Cup committee. At no point in the FA Cup committee discussions has anyone talked about replays and cancelling the replays. Not a conversation," Kavanagh added.

"So, to now try and spin this and point the finger of blame at EFL reps on these committees who work damn hard for football and to try and blame them when the decision is clearly a contract between the Premier League and the FA, quite frankly, is disgusting."

Meanwhile, the FA released a statement on Friday acknowledging the criticism. They noted that the Professional Game Board was part of the process and approved the decision.

The statement read: "We have listened to the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and would like to outline the approval process which was undertaken for the 2024-25 professional game football calendar. We have been discussing the calendar for the 2024-25 season with the Premier League and EFL for well over a year.

"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 changes to the Emirates FA Cup achieve this by returning it to a weekend competition on every round, and ensuring that we have exclusive broadcast slots in an increasingly congested calendar.

"To clarify, we have also increased the number of Emirates FA Cup matches that will be broadcast in the early rounds, which will lead to additional guaranteed broadcast revenue for EFL and National League teams. Additionally, we review the prize money annually for the competition, together with representatives from the EFL and PL and will do the same for the 2024-25 season.

"The calendar for next season was approved by the Professional Game Board, which consists of four EFL representatives and four Premier League representatives, last month, and then by the FA Board, which includes Premier League, EFL, National Game and grassroots representation. This is the process we undergo every year to approve the calendar.

"We understand the concerns expressed over the last 24 hours, and we will be sharing more details with clubs very shortly to explain the additional revenue opportunities in the early rounds. We will keep this under review as the new calendar begins to ensure that EFL and National League clubs do not lose out."

The EFL have hit back and said in their own statement: "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 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."

The statement continued: "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.

"A separate issue is the role of the EFL representatives on the Professional Game Board (PGB) in agreeing to the 2024/25 overall fixture calendar. PGB is there to make technical decisions across the game as opposed to key policy decisions such as competition changes or formats.

"Any decisions taken on the calendar involving EFL representatives are in no way an endorsement of the joint deal agreed between the FA and Premier League that imposes changes to the FA Cup competition format in isolation.

"As part of the discussions the EFL representatives did challenge the position and were told that Clubs would be comfortable with no replays. They were effectively advised that, as a result, of it being an FA competition, the fixture list needed to be agreed as presented. It is also important to note that this matter was not discussed by the FA Cup committee, a separate group that oversees the competition across the professional and national game."