The FA Cup is back.
Actually, it’s hardly ever been away, but seeing as it’s the third round now, loads more people are taking notice of it.
With the Premier League teams now in the mix, two fixtures were played on Friday night, with the BBC choosing to broadcast the tie of the round – the Merseyside Derby at Anfield. Fair enough, you might think.
The other game saw Manchester United host Derby County at Old Trafford. This game was not televised in the UK – the first time since the construction of the Egyptian Pyramids that a United FA Cup game had not been shown live on UK telly.
Although it was announced weeks ago that this was the case, plenty of United fans clearly didn’t get the memo. Having scrolled through every possible tv channel available, many of them expressed their disbelief on Twitter.
Looking forward to United-Derby later on the telebox. Hold on … what's that … it's not on the telly? But … but … it's an FA Cup tie … we're always on aren't we?
— Terry Rudden (@Terry_Rudden) January 5, 2018
Why the fuck are United playing tonight if they're not on telly?
— 🇵🇱 Steve G 🍉 🐝 (@oohhangon) January 5, 2018
Why is United v Derby on a Friday if it’s not on the box?
— Michael ⭐️⭐️ (@CampoCFC) January 5, 2018
https://twitter.com/DMSportsMassage/status/949368457283416065
How's the man united game not on tv what kind of mess
— Jezza (@JerryJezza1) January 5, 2018
United not on tv has really pissed on my chips 😡
— Rhys Aherne (@Ernie2k34) January 5, 2018
Ah well. At least everyone will just wait for the highlights instead of looking to watch some poor quality, illegal stream online.