Carabao Cup organisers in farce number three with latest draw to take place in China… at 4.15am
It is the latest in a line of bloopers which has seen howling errors in both the first and second round draws
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THE Carabao Cup threw up yet another farce when it announced the third-round draw will take place in the early hours in Beijing.
Fans hoping to see who their teams will get out of the hat will have to set their alarm clocks with the draw set to take place at 04:15am UK time.
That is because new sponsors Carabao, a Thai energy drinks firm, want to extend the coverage to the growing Asian market.
A statement on the EFL website read: "The draw for Round three of the Carabao Cup will take place in Beijing, China on Thursday 24th August 2017.
"Thirty-two clubs are involved in Round Three, with the seven Premier League sides who qualified for UEFA European competitions entering the draw, including last season’s winners Manchester United.
"The draw will take place from approximately 11:15am local time – 4:15am BST – and can be followed live on the EFL’s Carabao Cup Twitter feed."
It is just the latest in a line of shambolic errors since the re-branding of the old League Cup.
The first round draw took place in Thailand but somehow had Charlton playing two teams.
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The Addicks were drawn out to face an away trip to Exeter... and then again at home to Cheltenham.
Not only that, the graphic stated that AFC Wimbledon would take on Swindon which was impossible with both sides unseeded in the draw.
And to add insult to injury, the Facebook livestream faced sound issues and a stalling feed.
The second round draw descended into further chaos when John Salako sparked mass confusion live on TV.
The former Crystal Palace and Reading midfielder lost all grasp of the format when the red ball meant the team pulled out were playing at home and the white was away.
He confidently pulled out Brentford, a white ball, and announced that they were playing at home.
Not only did he make the mistake once, Salako lost all bearings having made the same error four times.