FA to review Youth Cup final rules after Man Utd and Man City venue row

According to the Daily Mail, the FA is set to review the rules around the staging of the FA Youth Cup final following the furious row between both Manchester clubs over this season’s edition. Under current rules, the team drawn first hosts the showpiece fixture. However, this year City decided to switch the game to their 6,447-capacity women’s ground, citing construction work as the reason the derby could not be staged at the Etihad Stadium.

United are understood to have offered to stage the match, which was played last Thursday, at Old Trafford, in order to allow the players involved the opportunity to perform in front of a much larger audience. However, that offer was turned down, which triggered outrage among United fans and angered the club’s academy staff. The Manchester United Supporters’ Trust and members of the club’s fans’ forum subsequently called on the FA to intervene.

In a joint statement, they labelled the decision ‘a disgrace’ and pointed out that the last time United were in a final, 67,000 turned up at Old Trafford. ‘Allowing this massive game to be played in front of such a paltry few fans is letting down supporters and denying these young footballers the biggest night of their careers so far,’ they added.

However, those cries fell on deaf ears, and the match, which City won 2-1, went ahead at the Joie Stadium, which is across the road from the 53,400-capacity Etihad. FA officials are now considering a rule change as part of an annual competition review, which would prevent a similar situation from happening again. Should the professional game board decide to press ahead, an addition may be made to the existing regulation which stipulates that, should the hosts not be able to stage the game at their ‘main’ stadium, it should be switched to the home of their opponents.

Following City’s victory, United's coach Darren Fletcher hit out at the FA. "I'm disappointed in the FA for everything that's gone around this game: for the location, for everything," the under-18s coach and former player, who also took offence at the nature of the staging of the event, said.

"You have to respect the opposition. But not when Man City take over an FA Youth Cup. It's an FA competition; it should never have been like that. I've never heard individual coaches be shouted out or every individual player be shouted out. That doesn't happen in cup finals", Fletcher continued as he expressed his frustration with the atmosphere of the final.

"It's an FA competition, and it felt like it was a Man City competition for this whole build-up to the game in terms of how we had to deal with that at the end. That's my one gripe for tonight. But the best team won; compliments to them," Fletcher concluded, acknowledging the sporting result despite the off-field issues.

The proposed review will aim to ensure that the FA Youth Cup remains a prestigious platform for academy talent, prioritising maximum exposure and attendance. By potentially mandating a venue switch to the away side if the home side's primary stadium is unavailable, the FA hopes to avoid the optics of a major final being held at a secondary training facility or smaller-capacity stadium.