Liverpool Carabao Cup tie rescheduled | EFL Statement
We have today been informed that our Carabao Cup third round tie away to Liverpool, initially scheduled for Wednesday 16 September (kick-off 8pm BST), has had to be rescheduled to Tuesday 15 September (kick-off 8pm BST) following the announcement of league stage fixture details in the UEFA Champions League.
Competition organisers The EFL have issued the following statement...
“The EFL has been left with no option than to rearrange a number of its fixtures following the announcement of fixture details for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.
“On 28 August we confirmed that the Carabao Cup Round Three tie between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers had been scheduled for Wednesday 9 September. This was confirmed with local stakeholders as per usual practice ahead of announcement. On Saturday, UEFA announced that it had scheduled Liverpool v Atletico Madrid for the same date, despite it being clear that Everton and Liverpool cannot play home fixtures on the same evening.
“The EFL met with UEFA officials on Monday morning to explore available options, however in those discussions it was made clear that they were unwilling to consider rescheduling the Liverpool v Atletico Madrid fixture due to the impact on supporters travelling from overseas.
“Disappointingly, the League has therefore been forced to make changes to the following three fixtures:
Everton v Wolverhampton Wanderers Carabao Cup Round Three
Liverpool v Tottenham Hotspur Carabao Cup Round Three
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Portsmouth Sky Bet Championship
“Over recent seasons the League has made a number of changes to accommodate the expansion of UEFA Club competitions – a decision which was made without adequate consultation with domestic leagues. These changes have included splitting Carabao Cup Round Three ties across two weeks, and implementing draw conditions for Round Three which prevent scheduling conflicts for Clubs playing in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
“This makes UEFA’s unwillingness to cooperate all the more frustrating, not least for the supporters of the five impacted Clubs, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”