Tottenham
have been awarded a bye into round four of the Carabao Cup to host Chelsea,
with Leyton Orient forced to forfeit their round-three tie.
The original fixture between Spurs and Orient was called off on Tuesday due
to positive coronavirus tests at the League Two club, with Orient owner
Nigel Travis critical of the decision and warning it may encourage clubs not
to test players.
In a statement on Friday, the EFL said: "In accordance with Carabao Cup
Rules, Tottenham Hotspur have been awarded with a bye to progress to Round
Four of the Carabao Cup and will now play Chelsea on Tuesday 29 September.
"The Round Three tie scheduled for Tuesday 22 September between Leyton
Orient and Tottenham Hotspur could not take place following the issue by
Waltham Forest Borough Council of an order preventing the match being played
as planned. This followed a number of Leyton Orient players testing positive
for COVID-19.
"The EFL Board has determined that in line with Carabao Cup Rule 5.1, the
Club was unable to fulfil its obligations to complete the fixture by virtue
of the Council's order and shall therefore forfeit the tie."
Orient were set to host the Premier League side on Tuesday night, live on
Sky Sports, but were forced to call off the game and close their Breyer
Group Stadium and training ground until further notice.
Testing, paid for by Tottenham, was carried out following the O's 2-2 draw
against Mansfield on Saturday.
Speaking to Sky Sports News before the EFL's decision, Travis said
forfeiting the game would be "a demonstration that doing the right thing
doesn't work."
He added: "Can you imagine the outrage if say in the fourth round, Spurs vs
Chelsea... one of those teams were impacted in the same way and the game
didn't take place?
"Can you imagine the outrage that you'd hear on Sky Sports and on the radio
stations? This clearly is not a good policy. Leyton Orient have followed all
the guidelines and have done the right things.
"It is an incentive for people not to test, and that will only create a
worse situation in the football world and in the UK at large."
There is a growing feeling among some Premier League clubs that cup
competitions involving teams outside the Premier League and the Championship
are a risk because of the lack of testing in those divisions.
EFL clubs no longer have to conduct mandatory tests on their players and
staff for coronavirus on a weekly basis this season, as is still the case in
the Premier League.
Both Plymouth Argyle, who Orient beat in last week's Carabao Cup
second-round tie, and last Saturday's league opposition Mansfield issued
statements on Monday saying they will take an additional round of testing as
a precaution.
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