Wolves’ Carabao Cup third round trip to face Everton was originally scheduled for Wednesday, September 9 and was announced by both clubs.
That date was selected because Liverpool’s game with Spurs in the same competition was selected for Wednesday, September 16 and Everton and Liverpool are not allowed to play home games on the same day.
As a result of that selection decision, Wolves were forced to move their Championship clash against Portsmouth at Molineux from September 9 to September 16.
However, that Portsmouth game will now be moved a second time and delayed by more than a month, because Liverpool will now play Atletico Madrid in the Champions League on September 9.
That chain of events means that Wolves’ game at Everton has moved again to September 16 and the clash with Portsmouth will now take place on Tuesday, October 20.
Liverpool’s Carabao Cup game has also been brought forward a day so it does not clash with the Everton v Wolves match.
The EFL have now released a statement confirming the confusion and agreed dates, while also criticising UEFA.
A statement read: “The EFL has been left with no option than to rearrange a number of its fixtures following the announcement of fixture details for the league phase of the UEFA Champions League.
“On 28 August we confirmed that the Carabao Cup Round Three tie between Everton and Wolverhampton Wanderers had been scheduled for Wednesday 9 September. This was confirmed with local stakeholders as per usual practice ahead of announcement.
“On Saturday, UEFA announced that it had scheduled Liverpool v Atletico Madrid for the same date , despite it being clear that Everton and Liverpool cannot play home fixtures on the same evening.
“The EFL met with UEFA officials on Monday morning to explore available options, however in those discussions it was made clear that they were unwilling to consider rescheduling the Liverpool v Atletico Madrid fixture due to the impact on supporters travelling from overseas.
“Disappointingly, the League has therefore been forced to make changes to the fixtures.
“Over recent seasons the League has made a number of changes to accommodate the expansion of UEFA Club competitions – a decision which was made without adequate consultation with domestic leagues. These changes have included splitting Carabao Cup Round Three ties across two weeks, and implementing draw conditions for Round Three which prevent scheduling conflicts for Clubs playing in the UEFA Champions League and UEFA Europa League.
“This makes UEFA’s unwillingness to cooperate all the more frustrating, not least for the supporters of the five impacted Clubs, and we sincerely apologise for the inconvenience caused.”
Confirmed Wolves fixture dates:
Everton v Wolves - Wednesday, September 16 at 7.45pm
Wolves v Portsmouth - Tuesday, October 20 at 7.45pm
I wish they would just kick the European qualified clubs out of the competition.
Nightmare. Son off to uni end sept. Hope the club honour refund for the Portsmouth tickets we already bought.