All FA Cup third and fourth round ties will be decided on the day this season, with the association confirming that replays are to be scrapped over fears of fixture congestion and player exhausation amid the surge in coronavirus cases across the game.
The third round is set to take place on the weekend of January 8 and the next stage is pencilled in for the weekend of February 5. But the FA, noting the pressure on already overworked squads, said that it has taken the "exceptional decision" following a board meeting last Friday.
Earlier today the Premier League said that it plans to continue with its festive schedule as intended but further postponements are expected after a weekend in which six of its ten games were called off owing to outbreaks. Some clubs, including Liverpool, proposed moving gameweek 20, the fixtures set to be played between December 28 and 30, but the majority were against that idea.
The EFL, meanwhile, said that it plans to play games where possible during the coming weeks.
An FA statement read: "We can today confirm that replays have been removed in both the third and fourth rounds of the 2021-22 Emirates FA Cup.
"This exceptional decision was approved by the FA Board on Friday 17 December and has been taken in the wider interest of English football to alleviate the possibility of fixture congestion following several postponements in recent days and continued uncertainty ahead due to COVID-19.
"Ties in the third and fourth rounds of this season’s competition will be played to a finish on the day, with extra-time and penalty shootouts if required. Replays will return up to and including the fourth round of the Emirates FA Cup from the 2022-23 season onwards."
