Everton’s former chief Keith Wyness has insisted expanded Champions League campaigns for Man City and other elite English sides are to blame for the scrapping of FA Cup replays.

Speaking on the new edition of Football Insider’s Inside Track podcast, the 66-year-old – who served as CEO at Goodison Park between 2004 and 2009 and now runs a football consultancy advising elite clubs – claimed Uefa have “squeezed” English football chiefs with the changes.

Clubs in the Champions League and Europa League league phases will play eight games from the 2024-25 campaign, up from six in the current group format.

With those changes set to come into effect, the FA announced last week (18 April) that FA Cup replays will be scrapped from the first round onwards – starting next season.

Champions League changes to blame for FA Cup replay row, says Wyness

The decision has sparked major backlash outside the Premier League – despite an additional £33million in funding for grassroots football being provided as part of the agreement.

Wyness told Football Insider‘s Insider Track podcast: “This is where Uefa have squeezed the Premier League, and then they’ve had to squeeze further down.

“I don’t think the Premier League are to blame for the change. It’s Uefa, taking dates away with their expanded formats for their competitions, which, in turn, affects the schedules for the likes of Man City.

“I think the FA Cup changes were announced very badly.

“There was no talks amongst all the clubs. That was wrong.

“I think clubs who are two divisions below should be able to choose whether to play the game at the bigger club’s stadium, to get the revenue.