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The Independent UK
The Independent UK
Sport
Lawrence Ostlere

Is VAR being used in the FA Cup third round? Well, yes and no

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The FA Cup third round will see the introduction of Video Assistant Referee technology to the competition for the first time this season – but only in some ties.

Only games played at Premier League ground will use VAR, due to licensing rules which mean that even at stadiums like West Brom’s Hawthorns, where the technology has previously been implemented, VAR will not be used because West Brom are not currently at Premier League side.

The FA Cup has used VAR since 2018, when it was first deployed in a trial format. But the competition has never applied to the International Football Association Board (Ifab) for full use across the competition, which would be complicated to install at some Football League and non-league grounds.

The FA has been criticised for creating an imbalance in the way the game’s rules are implemented in the competition.

Responding to those complaints last year, the FA said: “Video assistant referees provide match officials with additional support and should be utilised wherever possible. However, only Premier League stadiums are currently licensed to use VAR due to the infrastructure, workforce and costs that are required.”

Full FA Cup third-round draw

The winners of the 32 third-round ties will go into the hat for Monday’s draw. Below are the ball numbers:

1. Luton Town or Bolton Wanderers

2. Shrewsbury Town or Wrexham

3. Arsenal or Liverpool

4. Brighton & Hove Albion

5. Norwich City or Bristol Rovers (replay)

6. West Ham United or Bristol City

7. Tottenham Hotspur

8. Fulham

9. West Bromwich Albion or Aldershot Town

10. Southampton

11. Ipswich Town

12. Peterborough United or Leeds United

13. Leicester City

14. Watford

15. Newcastle United

16. Sheffield Wednesday

17. Crystal Palace or Everton (replay)

18. Aston Villa

19. Nottingham Forest or Blackpool

20. Wigan Athletic or Manchester United

21. Manchester City or Huddersfield Town

22. Blackburn Rovers

23. Sheffield United

24. Swansea City

25. Chelsea

26. AFC Bournemouth

27. Coventry City

28. Brentford or Wolverhampton Wanderers (replay)

29. Plymouth Argyle

30. Maidstone United

31. Newport County or Eastleigh (replay)

32. Hull City or Birmingham City (replay)

The third-round matches will take place between 5-8 January.

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