Why everyone thinks the FA Cup quarter-final draw was fixed

Toby Lambert,

The FA Cup quarter-final draw is made

There seem to be plenty of reasons to bash the FA Cup right now.

Firstly VAR has produced plenty of controversy during the tournament, most notably during West Brom’s win at Liverpool and today, as Manchester United beat Huddersfield 2-0.

Then came the FA Cup quarter-final draw, despite the fact there are two FA Cup fifth round games to go.

Tottenham head to Rochdale on Sunday, whilst Wigan host Manchester City on Monday.

When it did come, the FA Cup quarter-final draw looked like this:

  • Sheffield Wednesday or Swansea vs Rochdale or Tottenham
  • Man Utd vs Brighton
  • Leicester vs Chelsea
  • Wigan or Man City vs Southampton

Was the FA Cup quarter-final fixed?

Before the FA Cup draw was made, many felt that the big four Premier League sides left in the competition would be kept apart.

That way, it seems likely that Tottenham, Manchester United, Chelsea and Manchester City are strong favourites to make the semi-finals.

Then the FA, and their television partners can enjoy a semi-final stage that features two blockbuster matches and then a final between two of the Premier League Big 4.

Matt Le Tissier predicted a “fixed” FA Cup draw

Now a pundit on Sky Sports, Matt Le Tissier does not hide the fact that he is a big Southampton fan.

Before the draw was made, Le Tissier suggested the big four in the Premier League would be kept apart.

And, so it proved to be…

Le Tissier after the draw:

And, there are a fair few football fans on Twitter who feel the FA Cup draw was fixed…

Related: Juan Mata’s classy response to VAR disallowed Man United goal at Huddersfield.

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