Darren England has been named as the referee for Wednesday’s Carabao Cup fourth-round clash between Liverpool and Chelsea at Anfield. The match will be played without VAR. Scott Ledger and Akil Howson will be on the lines, with Craig Pawson taking on the fourth official role. With no VAR present, there will be no safety net on penalties, offside goals, or red cards. Separately, under Carabao Cup rules, if the score is level after 90 minutes, there will be a penalty shootout.
However, the appointment of England has been met with a negative reaction from large parts of the Chelsea fanbase. Many took to social media expressing their disappointment. It is fair to be sceptical. Chelsea have played nine matches with England as referee, winning three, drawing three and losing three. Also, Chelsea have lost three of the last four with him refereeing. His last match with the Blues was the FA Cup Final at Wembley in May, which they lost to Manchester City.
He is also a name Liverpool fans will remember. He was the VAR who failed to intervene when Luis Diaz’s goal was wrongly disallowed for offside at Tottenham in September 2023, an error PGMOL later admitted. He has also officiated 12 Liverpool games with the Reds winning five and losing three.
Xabi Alonso Admits Chelsea Need To Improve Discipline
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Discipline was a serious problem last season, even though they had not picked up a single red card in any competition this term before Saturday. Palmer’s red card was their ninth in the Premier League since the start of last season. In the 2025/26 season, they had 11 red cards from players and staff, the most in the division.
Xabi Alonso took no issue with the decision in the defeat to Tottenham, saying:
> “Absolutely. I need to check the action to talk with Cole but it is one to learn for the future for sure.”
When asked about the lack of discipline, he stated:
> “We need to work and we need to improve on that.”
Chelsea are currently fifth in the Premier League on 13 points from eight games, two points behind their opponents on Wednesday. A place in the quarter-finals is up for grabs at Anfield ahead of their game against Manchester United at Stamford Bridge.