‘Both readers of this blog will have noted the lame gag we used after United drew Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup for the fourth time in seven seasons – namely that the FA must have their balls glued together.
Well while that might not be the case – although we can’t speak for all the officials – it seems that something strange really did go on.
The Daily Star have whacked up a video on YouTube which appears to show that Villa were actually drawn against Middlesbrough (No25) and not United (No24) – and that United should be playing Bristol City instead.
The mistake looks quite evident from the video of the BBC’s footage – but FA chiefs claim it was just a trick of the light. An FA spokesman said: “It’s a number 24 but because there’s a line underneath the numbers, at that angle on the film it does look like a 25. It’s been verified by our competitions department.
“There’s no mystery and absolutely no problems with the draw. We can understand how the confusion might have taken place… We can have a look at the ways the balls have been designed but we’ve never had a problem with them before.”‘
From Man United Pies