This is why VAR won’t be used in Liverpool Carabao Cup semi-final clashes

Liverpool’s semi-final matchup with Fulham will be impacted by a new League Cup rule.

VAR will not be used in the Carabao Cup semi-finals because Middlesbrough’s stadium lacks the necessary equipment.

Chelsea will play a two-leg match at the Riverside on Tuesday, but there won’t be an assistant video replay. Liverpool will play Fulham in a two-leg match that begins on Wednesday at Anfield.

“VAR technology will not be used in the Carabao Cup semi-final stage this season due to the fact that the system is not installed at one of the participating semi-finalist Clubs and to maintain fairness and consistency,” the EFL website stated in an additional statement. This is consistent with earlier competition rounds this year, where VAR was accessible at select grounds but not at all.

One argument is that, given that three of the four games are Premier League matches, it should have been used in all four, but the EFL determined that this would be unfair because they wanted to level the playing field. There have been criticisms of the FA Cup’s use of VAR at Premier League clubs, but not at other clubs, and no modifications have been made to the competition as a whole.

The original intention was to use the technology in the semi-finals and final at Wembley, but the EFL decided it would be more equitable and better to not use it in any games than in just one.

“There will be no VAR used in the semi-finals because the technology could not be used at Middlesbrough,” a spokesman told the Telegraph. As a result, it was decided that it would be more equitable to not use it in any of the four semifinal matches. We thought this was the best course of action, but the FA adopted a different strategy (in the FA Cup). It won’t be used in any of the four semi-final legs if it wasn’t allowed to be used in one of the games. But because Wembley has the technology installed, VAR will be used for the final, no matter who plays.”

Liverpool defeated Arsenal 2-0 in the FA Cup over the weekend to prepare for the match on Wednesday. With this victory, Liverpool has now won four of their previous six games across all competitions. Fulham, on the other hand, enters the match in strong form despite having had a patchy campaign; they defeated Arsenal 2-1 in the league last week and defeated Rotherham by a narrow margin in their FA Cup match.