Gary Lineker and Alan Shearer have expressed their desire to eliminate extra time in the FA Cup following their observations of the disappointing match between Manchester United and Fulham.
Ruben Amorim’s team faced yet another setback as they were eliminated on penalties at Old Trafford on Sunday, after a match that extended to 120 minutes without a decisive outcome. Fulham initially took the lead through Calvin Bassey just before halftime, but Bruno Fernandes equalized for Manchester United midway through the second half.
The subsequent nearly hour-long period of scoreless play prompted both Lineker and Shearer to advocate for a change. “We have discussed this numerous times; simply abolish extra time and proceed directly to penalties. It is a logical solution,” stated Lineker, 64, during an episode of The Rest Is Football podcast.
“Particularly with the amount of football team are playing now, the amount of injuries we’re getting. Just play 90 minutes, then settle it on penalties. Because once it goes to extra time, the vast majority of us are thinking, particularly when it’s as bad as it was last night, you’re just thinking ‘come on, penalty shootout, a bit of excitement’.”
Shearer, 54, agreed, telling his colleague: “Straight to penalties. I’m all for that.”
This is not the inaugural instance of a proposed rule modification being discussed on the podcast. Previously, the Football Association made the contentious decision to eliminate FA Cup replays starting from the first round, aiming to alleviate fixture congestion. Lineker believes that the practice of extra time should also have been discontinued.
“We still have extra-time. Personally, I think if they’re going to take away replays, they should take away extra-time,” the 1991 FA Cup winner said back in January. “Because otherwise, it really favours the strong teams – because they’ve got bigger squads, and they can put on their best players in extra-time like Spurs did [against Tamworth]. And they went on to win.”
Of the eight matches in the FA Cup fifth round that occurred last week, four required extra time, with three ultimately resolved through penalty shootouts. Brighton was the sole team to find the net during the additional period, as Danny Welbeck’s goal in the 114th minute secured a 2-1 victory over Newcastle.
The quarter-final matches are scheduled for the weekend of Saturday, March 29. Among the eight remaining teams in the draw, four—Fulham, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth, and Brighton—have yet to claim an FA Cup title.
In addition, Preston North End, who will face Aston Villa, is the only team from outside the Premier League still competing in the tournament. The last instance of a non-top-flight team reaching the final occurred in 2008, when Cardiff City achieved this milestone.