London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Tuesday, Jul 21, 2026

Chairman says Orient 'can't be punished'

Chairman says Orient 'can't be punished'

Leyton Orient's chairman says they "can't be punished" after Tuesday's Carabao Cup tie against Tottenham was called off because a number of O's players have coronavirus.


League Two club Leyton Orient have made an unbeaten start to the 2020-21 campaign

Several of the squad tested positive after Saturday's draw with Mansfield.

This season, English Football League clubs do not have to do mandatory coronavirus tests on players and staff.

"If I was doing this again I would not do the testing," Orient chairman Mark Travis told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"This is an incentive not to test and that is bad for football and bad for health and safety."

League Two side Orient have been doing medical questionnaires every morning and said they would pay for testing to be done before Tuesday's cup tie, but Premier League opponents Spurs offered to cover the cost.

"That's why we can't be punished over this," Travis added. "People should be incentivised to take the test, especially when Premier League clubs with their resources give us the opportunity to have all our players tested."

Discussions are ongoing over the implications of not holding the third-round match on Tuesday, with a further update to be provided in due course.

Tottenham are in action in the Europa League on Thursday.

The decision to call off the match was announced two hours before the scheduled 18:00 BST kick-off at the Breyer Group Stadium.

Orient shut down their east London home and training ground after receiving the positive results following their league match against the Stags at the weekend, and held discussions with Public Health England about whether any further action needed to be taken.

This season, English Football League (EFL) clubs do not have to carry out mandatory coronavirus testing of their players and staff.

"Leyton Orient, the EFL and the relevant authorities are conducting a thorough review of the club's Covid-19 secure procedures with the view to reopening the stadium and training ground as soon as possible," a statement said.

There is little room to rearrange the tie, with the fourth round of the EFL Cup scheduled to take place next week.

Last week's draw handed Orient or Spurs a home tie against Chelsea or Barnsley.

Tottenham face Shkendija in the third qualifying round of the Europa League in North Macedonia on Thursday and, if they progress, the north London club will have a play-off match to qualify for the group stage seven days later.

Tuesday's match was set to be the first competitive meeting between Orient and Tottenham since January 2001.

Spurs had previously announced they would donate their match shirts to the foundation set up in memory of their former player Justin Edinburgh.

Edinburgh was manager at Orient when he died at the age of 49 after suffering a cardiac arrest in June 2019.

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
EU Imposes Record €550 Million Digital Services Fine on AliExpress
UK Publishes Updated Consumption-Based Carbon Emissions Data
English Regions Prepare for Expanded Devolution and Infrastructure Powers
Russell Group Backs New Government and Calls for Stronger University-Industry Links
Bank of England Maintains Restrictive Monetary Policy Amid Persistent Inflation
Climate Progress Report Renews Debate Over the UK's Net Zero Strategy
New UK Government Launches Drive to End Rough Sleeping and Expand Social Housing
Prime Minister Andy Burnham Appoints John Healey as Chancellor in Cabinet Reshuffle
OECD Calls for Structural Reforms as UK Economy Faces Slower Growth
International Monetary Fund Expects UK Economic Growth to Slow to One Percent in 2026
Andy Burnham Takes Office as UK Prime Minister and Unveils Decade-Long Reform Agenda
London’s Housing Starts Collapse as Planning and Building Costs Stall Development
Charlie Sheen’s Daughter: "My Dad Didn’t Buy Me a House, My Breasts Bought It"
Vivienne Westwood Casts Cicciolina, 74, in Its New Autumn Campaign
Dejavu: Germany’s Military Expansion Reshapes Europe’s Strategic Balance With France
Naturally Conceived Identical Quadruplets Born in Rare Brisbane Delivery
Tate Brothers Fight British Extradition Bid After Miami Arrests
Burnham Reshapes Britain’s Government Around Living Costs, Devolution and Security
Jingye Demands Full Compensation After Britain illegally Nationalized British Steel
Just Another Liar or a Robin Hood? Andy Burnham Pledges Cost-of-Living Help in First Speech as UK Prime Minister
Morgan Stanley Builds a Wall Street Lead in AI Infrastructure Finance
High Prices Push Coffee Drinkers Toward Whole Beans and Home Brewing
Trump Draws Boos and Podium Scrutiny at Spain’s World Cup Triumph
Brilliant move: Péter Magyar Moves to Nominate Chess Grandmaster Judit Polgár as Hungary’s President
Spain Defeats Argentina in Extra Time to Win Second World Cup
Police Block Cockroach Janta Party’s March to Parliament as Education Protests Intensify
Current AI Seeks to Build an Open Global AI Infrastructure Outside Big Tech Control
Turkey Explores S-400 Transfer to UAE in Bid to Rejoin F-35 Program
Josh Kerr Breaks Twenty-Seven-Year World Mile Record at London Diamond League
Thames Water Crisis Deepens as South East Water Outages Hit Thousands in Kent
EU Ban on Destroying Unsold Clothing Forces British Fashion Brands to Change Operations
UK Government Confirms Existing North Sea Oil and Gas Licences Will Be Honoured
UK Covid Inquiry Finds Nearly Ten Billion Pounds Lost in Pandemic Protective Equipment Procurement
Thames Water Moves Toward Possible Temporary Nationalisation Amid Rescue Plan Dispute
Andy Burnham Cancels One Point Eight Billion Pound Digital ID Programme After Taking Office
UK Government Takes British Steel Into Full Public Ownership to Protect Jobs and Supply Chains
Andy Burnham Becomes UK Prime Minister and Pledges Focus on Living Costs and Public Services
Germany’s Economic Malaise Reopens the Sunday Shopping Debate
Singapore Considers Lower Taxes for Fund Managers as Hong Kong Intensifies Talent Contest
US Retaliates Against Iran After Two American Troops Killed in Jordan
Bank of Asia BVI Enters Court-Supervised Liquidation After Regulators Find It Insolvent
Proposed U.S.-Saudi Nuclear Pact Could Permit Limited Uranium Enrichment Under International Safeguards
Netherlands Declares Water Shortage Emergency After Drought Pushes Rivers to Historic Lows
Why Kentucky Fried Chicken Became KFC—and Why the False Explanations Persist
Iran Claims It Destroyed Bahrain’s Main Artificial Intelligence Center in Missile and Drone Strike
Ukrainian Drones Strike Wildberries Warehouses Deep Inside Russia
Brothers Andrew and Tristan Tate Who Turned "Toxic Masculinity" Into a Brand Arrested in Miami as Britain Seeks Their Extradition
Reported CIA Mission Helped Clear the UAE’s Path to Advanced US AI Chips
Artificial Intelligence Capital Fuels Markets While Governments and Regulators Face Mounting Strategic Tests
China’s Moonshot’s Kimi K3 Narrows the Gap With Anthropic Through Scale, Openness and Lower Cost
×