- FA Youth Cup rule change being considered
- Would ban what Man City did this season
- Follows recent controversy involving Manchester rivals
The FA could bring in a rule change which would see the Joie Stadium banned from hosting any future Youth Cup finals.
There has been a lot of drama in recent weeks about which venue would be selected to stage the FA Youth Cup final.
Man City decided to move away from the Etihad Stadium, due to the renovations being made to the North Stand.
This meant only a few thousand spectators were able to watch on, as Man City defeated Man United at their academy stadium.
FA could implement rule change
In order to prevent such a situation from happening again, the FA will be reviewing the rules around stadiums eligible to host the Youth Cup final.
According to the Daily Mail, the proposed regulation would require a club unable to host the final at their main stadium to forfeit their home privileges.
In this case, it would have meant that the tie would be played at Old Trafford, which previously hosted a final attended by 67,000 supporters.
Man City are unlikely to experience this issue again
This season was an exception for Man City, as they are in the process of increasing the capacity at the Etihad Stadium.
Additionally, there were scheduling conflicts due to the fact they made it to the Carabao Cup final, coupled with Crystal Palace competing in Europe.
This meant there were senior fixtures placed on dates which made it impossible for the Etihad to host the FA Youth Cup final.
It seems unlikely that this issue would become a regular issue. Therefore, if City were drawn as the home team again in a future season, hosting the final at the Etihad would probably be fine.
City cannot be blamed for the FA’s decision-making
If the FA decide to pass this new motion, it is fair enough. Forcing a club to play away from home if they cannot facilitate the final is not an issue.
But this has not been the rule up until now, which means Man City did nothing wrong in hosting the final at the Joie Stadium.
They wanted to maintain their home advantage and this clearly worked out well for them, as the match ended in a 2-1 victory.
So the FA can feel free to make this change, but it does not change the fact that City won this year’s edition of the competition fair and square.
