Five Things You May Have Missed From The FA Cup This Weekend

The fifth round of the FA Cup took place this weekend and there was exciting action across the country as 16 teams battled for a place in the quarter finals. Manchester City, Aston Villa, Brighton, Bournemouth, Fulham, Crystal Palace and Preston are all through with both Nottingham Forest and Ipswich looking to join them tonight. There was a lot of football to watch this weekend, so there might have been a few things that you missed.

First Use Of Semi Automated Offsides

Semi automated offsides have been in use in UEFA competitions for some time now, however the Premier League is yet to introduce them. This weekend was supposed to be a test weekend of the system to be implemented from next season, and it first came into use in the Friday game between Aston Villa and Championship side Cardiff City at Villa Park.

🚨 Semi-automated offside technology (SAOT) will be used tomorrow night for the first time in English football as Aston Villa take on Cardiff in the FA Cup #AVFC pic.twitter.com/guSe3z8BwN

— Aston Villa Statto (@AVFCStatto) February 27, 2025

Marco Asensio turned in a Marcus Rashford cut back in the second half to open the scoring, however Rashford may have been in an offside position to receive the pass in the first place. The semi automated offside system was used and it determined that the Englishman was actually onside, so the goal stood. The delay for a decision was shorter than before the system was used and it came to a conclusive decision, so fans were relatively happy with its impact. Asensio scored a second to give Villa a comfortable victory in the end.

The New System Fails At Bournemouth

Not everyone was happy with the semi automated offside system however, as it caused a lot of controversy at the Vitality on Saturday. Bournemouth were 1-0 up when they appeared to have scored a second from a corner. The ball was bundled in at the back post by Milos Kerkez to extend the Cherries’ advantage, however VAR intervened to check for a handball. There was little communication as to what was going on, but eventually, after eight and half minutes of delay, the goal was ruled out for offside.

There was a record eight-minute stoppage for a VAR check in Bournemouth's #FACup meeting with Wolves 😳#BBCFootball pic.twitter.com/sr0PTatWDz

— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) March 1, 2025

The excuse given at the time was that the semi automated offsides weren’t working, but since then the excuse has changed to being that the system could not have been used because the penalty area was too congested. This is not the first time that this excuse has been used after technology has failed at Bournemouth’s expense. In 2020, during project restart, Sheffield United weren’t awarded a goal after the ball had crossed the line against Aston Villa. The excuse was that goal-line technology couldn’t work in a congested penalty area, but since then it has been revealed that actually no one had turned the hawkeye system back on. Aston Villa drew the game 0-0, and avoided relegation by one point, at Bournemouth’s expense.

The decision against Wolves this weekend was a strange one, as it is not clear who is in an offside position, or even who scored the goal. Milos Kerkez claimed it, but the ball appeared to hit Dean Huijsen on the way in. Kerkez got the initial contact from the corner, so he could not have been the one who was offside, but Huijsen doesn’t look offside either.

Robbie Brady’s Worldclass Freekick

It was an all Championship affair in one of Saturday’s early kickoffs, as Preston North End hosted Burnley. The visitors had only conceded nine goals all season in the league, but Preston didn’t seem to care, as they came with intent and smashed three past them to secure passage into the last eight.

The opening goal was scored by former Burnley wideman Robbie Brady with an absolutely outstanding freekick. The set piece was from roughly 25-30 yards out and it wasn’t at an ideal angle either, however the freekick specialist managed to find the top corner and set his side on the way to a quarter final place. It was the Irishman’s second goal in three years for the Championship side, as he has often had to play in unfavourable positions such as full back.

Noussair Mazraoui Allowed To Break Fast

Manchester United hosted Fulham on Sunday, as both teams were confident that they could progress into the next round. Fulham took the lead on the stroke of half time, as Calvin Bassey headed the visitors in front. Manchester United eventually leveled before they were knocked out on penalties, but during the second half, the game was stopped to allow Noussair Mazraoui to drink some water and have some food.

Noussair Mazraoui was allowed to break his Ramadan fast during Man United's FA Cup match against Fulham ❤️ pic.twitter.com/6IsJ2JKfQn

— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 3, 2025

Ramadan started on Friday, and while some players do not observe fasting, Mazraoui does. There are some Muslim footballers who fast during Ramadan but only on non-match days, while others observe fasting on everyday. During the second half, Mazraoui was allowed to eat some food and have a drink as it was after sunset. In 2021, it was agreed by all Premier League clubs that games during Ramadan would be paused at sunset to allow Muslim players and officials to break their fasts. The first instance of this was in a match between Leicester and Crystal Palace as Wesley Fofana and Cheikhou Kouyate were allowed to take on some food and water.

Dango Ouatarra’s Ice Cold Penalty

Bournemouth’s match against Wolves was decided on penalties after the game was level after 120 minutes. With the scores 2-1 to Wolves in the shootout, and all penalties having been scored, Burkina Faso international Dango Ouattara stepped up to take his spot kick. Ouattara has been thrown into the number nine position for Bournemouth as of late due to injuries to Evanilson and Enes Unal, but despite that he has been in excellent form. His ice cold penalty demonstrated his confidence, as he didn’t even take a run up, catching Sam Johnstone off guard.

The keeper didn't expect it 😱

Dango Ouattara didn't take a run-up for his penalty in @afcbournemouth's shootout win 🥶#EmiratesFACup pic.twitter.com/CwDBI6dhRL

— Emirates FA Cup (@EmiratesFACup) March 2, 2025

The Cherries won the shootout, despite being the first team to miss a kick. Dean Huijsen stepped up with his side 4-3 down, but his kick was saved, giving Matt Doherty the chance to send Wolves through. His effort missed the goal entirely and with Lewis Cook scoring his, the scores were level and it went to sudden death. Boubacar Traore stepped up first for Wolves, but his effort hit the crossbar, allowing Luis Sinisterra to win the shootout for the Cherries. It is just the third time that the club has reached the quarter finals of the FA Cup.