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Manchester United's FA Cup third-round game against Derby County will not be televised in the UK, meaning their run of 58 consecutive televised fixtures in the competition will come to an end. The 13-year run began in 2005 when a goalless draw between the then FA Cup holders and Exeter was not televised. Arsenal, the current holders, will begin the defence of their title on TV after the game against Nottingham Forest was selected for coverage alongside Liverpool vs. Everton, Brighton vs. Crystal Palace, Norwich vs. Chelsea, Fleetwood Town or Hereford vs. Leicester and Shrewsbury vs. West Ham. The Merseyside derby at Anfield will be played on Friday, Jan. 5, and followed by Leicester's trip to League One Fleetwood or non-league Hereford on Saturday, Jan. 6. Chelsea's away game at Norwich will be shown later that day, while West Ham, Arsenal and Brighton vs. Palace are scheduled for Monday, Jan. 8. United's clash with Derby will be played at 3 p.m. on the Saturday, Jan. 6. PA Sport reports that clubs selected for the televised ties on either BBC One or BT Sport will receive £144,000 from the FA's broadcast fund. Meanwhile, video assistant referees will be trialled from the third round of this season's FA Cup, the Football Association has announced. The technology will be used for the first time in competitive action in England, forming part of the International Football Association Board's (IFAB) global development of the VAR system. Brighton's third-round clash with Crystal Palace on Monday, Jan. 8 has been selected for the VAR trial, with the technology employed in selected fixtures throughout the rest of the competition. Video assistants were used for England's international friendlies against Germany and Brazil in November, without being executed in play. "The FA has always been open to trialling new innovations and was heavily involved in the advancement of goal-line technology before it was introduced," said the FA's director of professional game relations Andy Ambler. "The trialling of the VAR system in this season's Emirates FA Cup from the third round is a continuation of that and further demonstrates that whilst being the most famous and historic domestic cup competition in the world it is also modern, progressive and innovative." The VAR trials will also include January's Carabao Cup semifinals and are being led by the Professional Game Match Officials Limited (PGMOL). The FA confirmed in its statement that the technology will only be employed to counteract "clear and obvious errors" on specific incidents in three situations: goals, penalty decisions and straight red cards or mistaken identity for red or yellow cards. The VAR will automatically check every relevant incident and will inform the referee of any clear and obvious error. The referee then has the power to change the original decision based on the new information provided by the VAR, or watch a replay on the side of the pitch. Information from the Press Association was used in this report.
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