It had to end eventually.
Manchester United’s FA Cup third round tie against Derby County will NOT be televised. Jose Mourinho’s team are set to play the Championship side at Old Trafford next month, but neither the BBC or BT Sport, the two broadcasters with the rights to televise the competition, have opted to show the match.
This brings an end to United’s 12-year run of having their FA Cup games televised live – a run that lasted 58 matches.
The last time a Red Devils FA Cup tie was not broadcast live was back in January 2005, when they played out a goalless draw with non-league Exeter City at Old Trafford.
To emphasis just how long ago that was, here was United’s starting line-up that day:
Tim Howard, Phil Neville, Wes Brown, Gerard Pique, Jonathan Spector, Chris Eagles, Eric Djemba-Djemba, David Jones, Liam Miller, David Bellion, Kieran Richardson.
Cristiano Ronaldo, Paul Scholes and Alan Smith came on as second-half substitutes, but couldn’t help them get the win. United would win the replay 2-0.
Since then, the club’s FA Cup ties have all been broadcast, even when the fixtures weren’t that appealing to neutrals – such as last year’s games against Reading and Wigan Athletic, which proved to be routine wins.
For the 2018 edition of the FA Cup third round, the Merseyside derby between Liverpool and Everton is the standout tie of the round, and will be broadcast on the BBC on Friday, January 5.
1️⃣ @LFC v @Everton pic.twitter.com/gNC5xaVTGZ
— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) December 7, 2017
Fleetwood Town or Hereford will play Leicester City in the early kick-off on Saturday, January 6, and BT Sport will show the rivalry match between Brighton and Hove Albion and Crystal Palace on Monday, January 8, to finish off the weekend’s action.
Here’s a full list of the FA Cup matches that will be televised next month:
Friday, January 5: Liverpool versus Everton (BBC).
Saturday, January 6: Fleetwood Town or Hereford versus Leicester City (BBC). Norwich City versus Chelsea (BT Sport).
Sunday, January 7: Shrewsbury Town versus West Ham United (BBC). Nottingham Forest versus Arsenal (BT Sport).
Monday, January 8: Brighton and Hove Albion versus Crystal Palace (BT Sport).
