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.
