FA chiefs can order Rochdale to switch the game to another venue if the Spotland pitch is deemed unfit – but NOT Wembley.
But Spurs have the right to protest at the state of the surface or the venue if they believe either are “unsuitable” for the tie to take place – which could take it to the National Stadium after all.
Under FA Cup rules, Wembley bosses can prevent a game going ahead as drawn on safety grounds.
But while non-league Farnborough switched their 2003 game with Arsenal to Highbury, the competition rules have been altered.
The rules now state that if the FA “decides not to allow the match to be played” at the nominal home venue, “the first alternative ground shall be the nearest suitable ground”.
In the case of Rochdale, that would be either Oldham’s Boundary Park or Gigg Lane, Bury, with both venues some five miles from Spotland.
But the rules also allow Spurs to mount an official protest if they believe “that the ground of the Home Club is unsuitable for the match”.
Any protest would be heard by the Professional Game Board, whose eight members include ARSENAL chief executive Ivan Gazidis.
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And the PGB is entitled to “order the match to be played on the ground of the protesting Club, or on a neutral ground” – which could see the match switched to Wembley after all.
The FA is keen for the fifth round tie to go ahead as scheduled, as are BBC chiefs who have chosen the game for live coverage on Sunday February 18.
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Rochdale will bank £247,500 for the live screening but any rescheduled match could see the FA in conflict with Uefa rules banning television coverage of domestic games that clash with Champions League and Europa League dates.
The two teams are set to go head-to-head on Sunday, February 18.
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