Palace vs Villa: Glasner confesses he has never seen an FA Cup final… but Eagles boss watched Taylor Swift at Wembley

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has never watched an FA Cup final – and says he could not tune in as a youngster in Austria because “there was no internet”.

Glasner, who was born in the tiny Austrian town of Scharding, will hope to lead the Eagles a step closer to their first major trophy when they face Aston Villa in the final four at Wembley Stadium on Saturday (17:15 BST).

“When I was growing up, we couldn’t see it back in Austria,” the 50-year-old replied when he was asked about his memories of the most famous days on the English footballing calendar.

“There was no internet… I’m a little bit older than most of you. But I could feel it from day number one here that it’s… a huge cup here in England. That’s why we are enjoying it, and it’s one more reason to go to the final.”

Rely on our togetherness, rely on our spirit, rely on our quality.#CPFC pic.twitter.com/M5qqU12BuS

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 24, 2025

Taylor Swift: Glasner hopes Palace are on song

Should Palace win, Glasner will become the first Austrian manager to reach the final, with his country becoming the first new nation represented by a manager in the game since Germany in 2021, when Thomas Tuchel took charge of Chelsea.

Glasner has been to Wembley to watch Tuchel’s Three Lions and at the behest of his daughter to see arguably the world’s best-known pop star.

“I’ve watched two England games and I brought my daughter to the Taylor Swift concert,” said Glasner. “Of course we will enjoy it, because it’s the biggest stadium in England. It’s a very traditional stadium.”

Crystal Palace vs Aston Villa

Palace are 12 points behind Villa in the Premier League and are attempting to win the fixture in the competition for the first time at the fourth attempt.

They have reached five previous semi-finals, advancing to lose in the final in 1990 and 2016, both of which ended in defeat to Manchester United.

Admiring beauty…#CPFC pic.twitter.com/EtLKvwkNcw

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 24, 2025

Glasner twice reached finals with former club Eintracht Frankfurt, beating Rangers on penalties in the 2021/22 Europa League and losing 2-0 to late Leipzig goals in the 2022/23 German Cup.

“It’s a game, so I don’t want to make it bigger than it is,” said Glasner, adding that he has a full squad to choose from, including full-back Ben Chilwell.

“We feel well prepared. We’ve got confidence, especially with the performance at the Emirates [Stadium, in a 2-2 draw at Arsenal on Wednesday]. This is how we will enter Wembley.”

FA Cup semi finals 2025 TV channels, online streams

In the UK, the BBC and ITV hold the broadcasting rights to the FA Cup. BBC One will show Palace vs Villa, with ITV1 broadcasting Forest vs City live on Sunday, kicking off at 16:30.

Fans will be able to live-stream Palace vs Villa on the move through BBC Sport and BBC iPlayer, while ITV.com and ITVX will stream Forest vs City.

Goa…

Some stop, @deanhenderson #CPFC pic.twitter.com/BWKR7fD95c

— Crystal Palace F.C. (@CPFC) April 24, 2025

FA Cup final 2025: When is this season’s showpiece?

The FA Cup final 2025 will take place on May 17.

FA Cup 2024/25 prize money

Here are the figures published by the FA for how much the winners and losers receive at various stages.

Third round – winners £115,000 / losers £25,000
Fourth round – winners £120,000
Fifth round – winners £225,000
Quarter-final – winners £450,000
Semi-final – £1 million / £500,000
Final – £2m / £1m