Carabao Cup: The English Premier League criticizes the “undermining” of the competition after the scheduled match between Arsenal and Crystal Palace in the quarter-finals

The EFL has criticized the Carabao Cup for being “undermined” after it was forced to concede its quarter-final clash with Crystal Palace due to fixture congestion.

Palace will now face Arsenal in the quarter-finals at the Emirates Stadium on Tuesday 23 December at 20:00 GMT.

The other three quarter-finals take place the week before, but the Eagles’ UEFA Conference League commitments – where they host Finnish club KuPS at Selhurst Park on December 18 – have left them with four games in nine days.

Palace host Manchester City on December 14 and visit Leeds on December 21, either side of a Cops tie.

A statement issued by the English Premier League criticized the “expansion of European cup competitions”, which it believes was “implemented without sufficient consultation with the local leagues.”

The English Premier League said it had “shown a willingness to make concessions” but that scheduling conflicts “have now become absolutely unavoidable.”

“Continuing to make endless concessions only serves to undermine the reputation of the League Cup,” the statement read.

“It also challenges the traditional scheduling of the English football calendar and the strength of our domestic game.”

The UEFA European calendar now stretches across 10 intermediate weeks, rather than six weeks ago two seasons ago, with the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League each given an independent week of presentation.

This caused a major logistical headache, as the third round of the EFL Cup had to be seeded and played over two weeks to separate the clubs in the Champions League and Europa League.

Palace coach Oliver Glasner said last week that it would be “irresponsible” if the club had to play two matches in three days.

The English Premier League said it shared the “frustration and concern” of managers and players over the congested program that deprived clubs of “the necessary time to prepare” and the ability to “field their strongest squads” in the League Cup.

The Premier League recently blamed the increasing number of European fixtures for having only one fixture on December 26 in the Premier League.

Boxing Day matches have been a long-standing tradition in English football, but the only Premier League match this year will be Manchester United’s home clash with Newcastle United (20:00 GMT).