Villa venue for Cup battle

MANCHESTER UNITED have won the battle over the venue for their FA Cup semi-final with Arsenal.

After a lengthy meeting yesterday, the Football Association have agreed that the fixture will be played at Villa Park on Saturday April 3, with a 12pm or 12.15 kick-off.

The move has been hailed as a victory for the fans after supporters from both United and Arsenal demanded to be consulted over the timing of the game.

Arsenal officials, led by manager Arsene Wenger, called for the match to be switched to the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff because of its greater capacity and easier access from London.

But, having correctly assumed the game would be pulled forward a day from its scheduled Sunday berth and given a lunchtime kick-off, United demanded the match be played at the original venue, where the Red Devils won their famous 1999 semi-final replay against the Gunners.

They argued that their fans would be greatly inconvenienced at having to head to south Wales at such a time and pointed out their opposition to playing a semi-final at the same venue as the final.

Supporters from both clubs then waded into the debate, suggesting they were being treated as "turnstile fodder" by the game's governing body.

Finally, after a meeting involving all relevant parties, the FA have switched the fixture back to Villa Park where the Barclaycard Premiership giants were originally told the match would be played if they were drawn together.

"Given all the realistic options, this is welcome news," said Mark Longden, spokesman for the Independent Manchester United Supporters Association.

"Supporters of both Arsenal and Manchester United were rightly concerned that decisions were being taken without the input of the people who would be most inconvenienced by the eventual outcome.

"It is the fans who have to pay for their tickets, and they deserve to be consulted on matters of this kind."

The news means Villa's scheduled Premiership encounter with Manchester City will now be postponed.

The timing of the Cup semi-final squeezes the space between the league game between the pair on March 28, which could be bad news for Sven-Goran Eriksson given England head to Sweden for an important friendly in the middle of the following week.

Arsenal will be without Gilberto for the Cup clash because he will be required for Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Paraguay, a situation which is almost certain to apply to United midfielder Kleberson.