There will not be any VAR in operation at the upcoming Carabao Cup semi-final matches, because Middlesbrough do not currently have the technology at the Riverside Stadium.
Chelsea travel to Middlesbrough for the first leg of the two-legged semi-final on Tuesday night, with Fulham playing against Liverpool in the other semi-final.
In the FA Cup, VAR has been in use at Premier League stadiums who have the technology and not in the others, but in the interests of fairness the English Football League has decided to not have it for any of the four matches altogether, rather than three out of four.
A spokesman told The Daily Telegraph: “There will be no VAR used in the semi finals because it was not possible for the technology to be used at Middlesbrough.
“It was decided it was fairer to not use it in any of the four semi final games as a result.
“The FA took a different approach (with the FA Cup) but we felt this was the way to go. If it couldn’t be used in one of the game it won’t be used in any of the four semi final legs.
“However, VAR will be used for the final regardless of who is playing in it as the technology is already installed at Wembley.”
There has been no VAR in the competition to date, even in all-Premier League clashes, although this has not been without some controversy.
During the quarter-final between Newcastle and Chelsea at Stamford Bridge there were a number of decisions, including an early dangerous tackle that would have warranted the intervention of VAR, should it have been available.
A statement on the EFL website added: “Given the system is not installed at one of the participating semi-finalist Clubs and to maintain fairness and consistency, VAR technology will not be used in the Carabao Cup semi-final stage this season.
“This is in line with previous rounds of this season’s competition when at some grounds, but not all, VAR has been available.”
