Why there is no VAR in Carabao Cup fourth round as Arsenal, Chelsea and Man Utd in action

The Carabao Cup fourth round is well underway with Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester United among the Premier League heavyweights in action. Just three rounds are between the remaining 14 teams and the final at Wembley with that clash set to take place on Sunday, February 25, 2024.

Holders Man United face a repeat of last season's final with Newcastle United visiting Old Trafford. Chelsea are also at home as they welcome Blackburn Rovers to Stamford Bridge with Arsenal and Liverpool facing trips to West Ham and Bournemouth, respectively.

Despite a number of ties seeing two Premier League teams up against each other, VAR is not in use for the competition with the reasoning behind the decision being that the EFL want to ensure every team has an equal chance. Football League teams do not use VAR in the Championship, League One and League Two meaning it is deemed unfair to use the technology. The technology is, however, used in the two-legged semi-finals, as well as the final.

With the competition now at the fourth round stage, the decision not to have VAR has been questioned on several occasions with more examples arriving in the latest round. At London Stadium, West Ham went ahead against Arsenal after Ben White turned home Jarrod Bowen's corner with Aaron Ramsdale leading the protests that he was fouled by Tomas Soucek moments before the goal. However, with VAR not in operation, the on-field decision of a goal could not be changed.

Meanwhile, at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea's Raheem Sterling felt as though he was brought to the ground by Blackburn's Lewis Travis, but referee Tim Robinson did not see anything wrong with the challenge. This follows on from the Chelsea winger being denied a spot-kick against Brentford that