Bristol City v Man City: English FA make major decision ahead of FA Cup clash

Bristol City and Manchester City fans will not have to worry about decisions made elsewhere
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Bristol City and Manchester City meet at Ashton Gate on Tuesday, February 28, at a sold-out Ashton Gate in the fifth round of the Emirates FA Cup.

Tickets sold out weeks ago and whilst there is still Hull City to come this Saturday, there is a buzz around the red side of Bristol for the visit of Pep Guardiola’s stars.

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The Citizens, who drew 1-1 in the UEFA Champions League with Leipzig on Wednesday, successfully defended their title last year, cementing themselves as one of the best terms in world football. It is an exciting prospect that the likes of Kevin de Bruyne, Erling Haaland and Jack Grealish could grace the pitch next week.

Ahead of the glamour cup tie, a few big decision has been made however leading up to the match. Firstly, Premier League referee Andre Marriner has been appointed as the official to take charge. Marinner oversaw the Robins’ 1-1 draw with Swansea City at the Gate back in October in his only City match this season. The 52-year-old hails from Birmingham and has mainly officiated top flight-games for the last few years.

More importantly, there will be no use of a video assistant referee at the match. Premier League matches have VAR, but that technology has not yet filtered down fully to the Championship. Despite the increased amount of television cameras that will be used after the tie was chosen for broadcast coverage by ITV, the four match officials will have to make any key refereeing decisions in real time, and can not fall back on technology should they make an error.

Four of the eight FA Cup fifth round fixtures will not have a video assistant referee with Burnley, Stoke City and Sheffield United all hosting matches. Burnley and Sheffield United will have had VAR previously installed in their grounds during their time in the Premier League. The venue for the match has been able to accomodate a television match official for several Bristol Bears’ English Premiership Rugby matches, but that will not be the case for the football on Tuesday.

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City boss Nigel Pearson is in favour of VAR being introduced to the second tier of English football. In the aftermath of the opening day defeat to Hull City, a penalty was awarded against them whilst another was missed, which enraged the 59-year-old, and led for him to back calls for VAR to be implemented. Back in August, he he said: “I think VAR puts the officials in a position. It should help them and it makes them more accountable. So it is all transparent and there is nothing to hide. Technology should be there to help the officials.”

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