For many years one of the defining characteristics of the English FA Cup was the replay that was held in the case a match ended in a draw. The two teams would meet again in a second and final attempt to determine a winner.
Unlike other cup competitions, which are often decided by extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout, the oldest cup tournament in the world for many years declared the game drawn, and scheduled another match.
The replay would be held at the visiting team’s home stadium, earning that side a chance to advance in front of its home fans. Throughout the history of the competition, lower league teams have boosted their coffers by earning a replay against a top-flight side.
That replays have faded over the years and are now only a feature of the first four rounds of the competition. Draws from the Fifth Round (Round of 16) onwards do not make use of replays.
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What happens if FA Cup matches end in a draw in 2022?
Over time the tradition has given way to the demands of modern football, and the increasingly condensed fixture calendar. Replays have been gradually removed from rounds over time.
Even the FA Cup final used to be replayed after a draw, which last happened in 1993. The semifinals went to replays until the 1999-00 season, while the quarterfinals no longer saw replays after the 2016-17 season.
The FA went a step further, with Fifth Round ties also being settled by extra time and penalties, rather than a replay, from the 2018-19 season onwards.
The latest decision to nix replays came in December 2021, after it was determined the third and fourth rounds of the 2021-22 competition would also go to extra time and penalties given the fixture congestion caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, they will be back for the third and fourth rounds in 2022-23.
Are there replays in FA Cup 5th Round?
The Fifth Round (Round of 16) of the FA Cup has not featured replays beginning with the 2018-19 campaign.
The last time a Round of 16 series was decided via replay occurred in 2017-18 with two matchups that required a second match.
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Rochdale held Tottenham to a 2-2 draw at home, only to get torched 6-1 at Wembley Stadium in the rematch played 10 days later.
In that same round, Sheffield Wednesday and Swansea City played to a scoreless draw to force a match in Swansea, where the home team emerged 2-0 winners.
The replay will be back in next season’s tournament with the first four rounds decided by way of a rematch.