FA Cup semi-finals

Villa Park in Birmingham, Old Trafford in Manchester, and Hillsborough in Sheffield were common hosts.

[1] The 1989 semi-final between Liverpool and Nottingham Forest at Hillsborough, Sheffield, turned into tragedy when 97 supporters were killed in the stands due to overcrowding.

Liverpool were granted a special dispensation to avoid playing their 2012 semi-final match against Everton on the 23rd anniversary of the disaster.

[3] The 1991 North London derby semi-final between Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur was the first to be played at Wembley, the traditional venue for the FA Cup Final.

However, in 2006 the FA decided to revert to the neutral ground system, with Villa Park and Old Trafford hosting the games.

The decision was mainly for financial reasons, to allow the FA to recoup some of the costs of rebuilding the stadium.

Queen's Park again decided not to contest a semi-final, so Oxford University advanced automatically.

The last FA Cup semi-final replay, in 1999, saw Manchester United take on Arsenal at Villa Park.

[14] The highest attendance for an FA Cup semi-final is 88,141 for Everton's penalty win over Manchester United on 19 April 2009.

The highest post-war winning margin was Stoke City's 5–0 victory over Bolton Wanderers in the second 2011 semi-final on 17 April 2011.

The third-fourth place matches were generally unpopular, with only the first one in 1970 getting some positive attention as an occasion, and they were abandoned after five seasons.