(Reuters) - League Cup matches will go straight to penalties if the scores are level at the end of 90 minutes from the coming season, after clubs voted to remove extra time, the English Football League (EFL) said https://www.efl.com/news/2018/june/extra-time-removed-from-carabao-cup-matches on Friday.
The EFL said the withdrawal of the extra 30 minutes of play would help ease the burden on players during midweek cup matches by reducing fatigue.
Last season, the EFL trialled an ABBA format during penalties, where team A would take the first penalty, team B the second and third, team A the fourth and fifth and so on until each team had taken five.
However, shootouts will revert to the traditional format in which teams alternate their spot-kicks, the ruling body said.
Clubs will also no longer receive seedings in the first two rounds of the tournament, while all League Cup fixtures at Premier League grounds will have Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology.
(Reporting by Anirban Paul in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
