Tottenham to get Carabao Cup bye after Leyton Orient abandon bid to have cancelled match rescheduled
Tottenham are set to be awarded a bye into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup, where they will face London rivals Chelsea, after Leyton Orient gave up their bid to have the abandoned third-round tie rescheduled.
Orient had hoped to play the match at a later date after it was finally called off less than three hours before kick-off on Tuesday following an outbreak of coronavirus cases at the east London club.
But following talks with the EFL, the Os are resigned to the game not taking place and their players were informed on Wednesday afternoon.
The League Two club were desperate to play the game which was worth a precious £150,000 in Sky Sports and sponsorship revenue, but it is understood the EFL has agreed to make up some of the shortfall following today's discussions.
Orient are understood to have argued that the EFL were guilty of double standards after West Ham's game against Hull went ahead on Tuesday, despite Hammers boss David Moyes and two of his players returning positive tests just 70 minutes before kick-off.
There is no requirement for regular coronavirus testing for EFL clubs but Orient accepted Tottenham's offer to pay for a round of testing after their 2-2 draw with Mansfield on Saturday, and up to 17 members of the squad returned positive results.
The club also argued that they were being punished for accepting Tottenham's offer when the likes of Brentford and Hull rejected offers from Premier League opposition to be tested ahead of their respective third-round ties.
The competition's rules state that a club forfeits the game if it is unable to play due to a coronavirus outbreak but Orient claimed they had a side ready to play.
Spurs will progress to a fourth-round clash against Chelsea, who beat Barnsley 6-0 at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday.
Asked about the prospect of the match being rearranged on Wednesday, Spurs manager Jose Mourinho said: "I have no idea, I was ready to play yesterday.
"Not happy but I process our calendar, I process my bad feelings in relation to the unfair schedule that we have and I was ready to play yesterday. We didn't and now I'm ready to play again tomorrow. I don't know nothing else.
"It was hard because we didn't know what to do, even during the day when we had a training session, I didn't know if it was a training session with a game or a training session without a game.
"It was not easy but we managed to find a balance and to keep the players active until the moment we were not going to play the game."
Read more
Leyton Orient chief Travis calls for flexibility on 'draconian rules'
Orient vs Tottenham OFF tonight, but fate of Carabao Cup tie unclear
