History of the FA Cup Cup Finals. Since 1902, referees can only officiate one Cup Final, though they are allowed to have prior Final experience as an assistant referee. In 1914, George V became the first monarch to watch the FA Cup Final between Burnley and Liverpool in the last cup final played at Crystal Palace. The 'Matthews Final' of 1953 was the first football match attended by The Queen, in her Coronation year. It is commonly held that previous winners of the FA Cup are traditionally the only clubs allowed to use triangular corner flags in English football. However, this tradition is not affirmed
FA Cup semi-finals FA Cup semi-finals The FA Cup semi-finals are played to determine which teams will contest the FA Cup Final. They are the penultimate phase of the FA Cup, the oldest football tournament in the world. The semi-finals have always been contested at neutral venues. Since 2008, all semi-finals have been held at Wembley. In the past any suitably large ground which was not the home ground of a teams in that semi-final was used. Villa Park in Birmingham, Old Trafford in Manchester, and Hillsborough in Sheffield were common hosts. All semi-finals between 1871 and 1881 were played at Kensington Oval.