The Carabao Cup, also known as the EFL Cup, has been around for decades now and has never failed to provide its fair share of on-pitch drama.
Although not as popular as the FA Cup, the competition still offers clubs a great chance to win a trophy each season.
The Carabao Cup is also no stranger to surprises, with teams like Swansea City and Birmingham City winning the title in the last 13 years.
The English Football League has not been afraid to make changes to the format of the competition over the years, with its stance on what to do in the event of a draw after 90 minutes recently changing.
Carabao Cup Extra Time Regulations
As it is a knockout competition, a winner is required after each Carabao Cup match.
The tournament, however, does not use extra time before semi-finals to decide who progresses if the score is tied after 90 minutes.
Extra time has been used in every round of the Carabao Cup until the 2018/19 campaign, when EFL clubs voted in favour of the reduction about having to play an extra 30 minutes.
“The rationale put forward by the EFL is that removing the extra 30 minutes would directly address the additional fatigue issues that are sometimes caused when midweek games extend beyond the traditional 90-minute period,” an EFL spokesperson said. EFL Statement at the time read.
Extra time will therefore only be used in the second leg of a semi-final or the final itself.
“85% of matches are finished within 90 minutes, we are only talking about a small number of people who will be affected.”
Shaun Harvey on removing overtime in the #CarabaoCup >> https://t.co/tOyHLjWxrP pic.twitter.com/DjaLx9jTdy
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) June 15, 2018
Do Carabao Cup matches end in penalties?
Without extra time until the semi-final, Carabao Cup matches that end in a draw after 90 minutes go directly to penalties..
These penalty shootouts currently follow the traditional format, but the competition trialled the ABBA concept in 2017/18.
As the name suggests, this approach involves taking consecutive penalties each time after the first attempt. For example, if Arsenal took the first penalty, Chelsea would then take the second and third, with Arsenal then taking over for the fourth and fifth attempts.
This penalty shootout format did not last long, however, with the Carabao Cup reverting to the original system in 2018/19.
Between 2012 and 2022, four Carabao Cup finals were decided on penalties. In 2023/24, Chelsea and Fulham won their quarter-finals on penalties, beating Newcastle United and Everton respectively.
Virgil van Dijk’s extra-time winner for Liverpool against Chelsea in last season’s final ensured these teams did not go to penalties as they did in 2022.
Are there replay matches in the Carabao Cup?
The Carabao Cup does not use match replays at any stage of the tournament.
The reruns, in fact, have not been used in competition since the 1990s with either extra time or penalty shootouts to determine the winner if necessary.
The Carabao Cup semi-finals are played in two legsand this is the only time the same match will be played more than once in the same season. There is no rule on away goals.
Who remembers that crazy penalty shootout between @LFC And @Boro in 2014?! ?
⏪ @OfficialBWFCMJ Williams reflects on his senior debut for #LFC in the third round of the #CarabaoCup.#EFL | #I was there pic.twitter.com/eu8FPtPS4i
— Carabao Cup (@Carabao_Cup) November 8, 2022
What happens if the Carabao Cup matches end in a draw?
With all this in mind, let’s analyze how a match will be decided in the Carabao Cup if both teams are tied after 90 minutes:
- For all matches from the first round to the quarter-finals, a penalty shootout will be used to determine a winner.
- For the second leg of a semi-final or final, the match will be extended with a penalty shoot-out if the scores are still level after these 30 additional minutes.
Is there VAR in the Carabao Cup?
There will be no VAR used in Carabao Cup matches in 2024/25 until the semi-final stage. However, if a lower league team without the capability to use the technology at their ground reaches the last four, VAR will not be used until the 2025 final at Wembley. Sunday March 16.
The video assistant referee system will be used for the two-legged semi-finals and the final.