FA statement confirms major VAR change as Newcastle United to avoid Aston Villa repeat v Man City

Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology will be in place when Newcastle United face Manchester City in their FA Cup Fifth Round showdown at St James’ Park this weekend.

The winner of Saturday night’s encounter will secure a place in the quarter-finals of the competition. It will also be the fifth time the two clubs have clashed this season.

They have already faced each other twice in the Premier League and twice in the EFL Cup, while a sixth meeting could still happen if both sides reach the UEFA Champions League Final.

The team managed by Pep Guardiola progressed through the earlier rounds of the FA Cup by defeating lower-league opponents at home. They thrashed Exeter City 10–1 in the third round before securing a 2–0 victory over Salford City in the following round.

In contrast, Newcastle have had a more demanding route to this stage. The Magpies beat AFC Bournemouth at St James’ Park and then claimed an impressive away win over Aston Villa at Villa Park to reach the last 16.

However, their victory against Villa came amid several controversial refereeing moments. Villa’s opening goal appeared to be offside but was allowed to stand by the officials. Later in the match, Lucas Digne escaped a possible red card after catching Jacob Murphy with his studs.

Newcastle were also denied what looked like a clear penalty when the ball struck Digne’s arm inside the penalty area. Neither referee Chris Kavanagh nor assistant Nick Greenhalgh, who was close to the incident, awarded the spot-kick.

Fortunately for the Magpies, they later scored from the resulting free-kick and managed to secure the win that sent them through.
Following the match, both Kavanagh and Greenhalgh were removed from Premier League duties. Notably, all of these controversial moments occurred in a game where VAR was not in use.

This weekend’s tie should see greater technological assistance for officials.

According to the FA’s policy, Video Assistant Referee (VAR) and Semi-Automated Offside Technology (SAOT) are not used during the third and fourth rounds of the FA Cup. Instead, both technologies are introduced from the fifth round onward.

From this stage of the tournament, VAR will be applied in every fixture to ensure a consistent refereeing standard. Meanwhile, SAOT will operate in matches played at Premier League venues, where the required infrastructure is available.

Additionally, goal-line technology has been in place since the third round for all FA Cup games hosted at stadiums belonging to Premier League and EFL Championship clubs.