Tottenham have been awarded a bye into the fourth round of the Carabao Cup - where they will face London rivals Chelsea - after their tie against Leyton Orient was called off due to a coronavirus outbreak among the League Two side's squad.
The EFL confirmed the decision on Friday morning, meaning Spurs will now play the Blues on Tuesday, September 29 for a place in the quarter-finals.
The round three match between fourth-tier Orient and the Premier League club was scheduled for last Tuesday at The Breyer Group Stadium, however it was not allowed to take place following a ruling by Waltham Forest Council after several Orient players tested positive for coronavirus.
The EFL Board ruled that Orient had been unable to fulfil the fixture because of the council's order, and therefore forfeit the tie and their place in the competition, allowing Spurs to progress.
The EFL cited a law that stated: "A club which is unable to fulfil its obligation to complete a competition match in round one to (and including) round four due to either that club’s player(s) having returned a positive CAT result and self-isolating in accordance with the action plan set out in the Return to Play/Return to Training Protocols resulting in the club not having a sufficient number of players to fulfil the fixture; or any requirements or directions of the UK Government and/or by any public authority, shall forfeit the fixture, pay the opposing Club’s expenses in accordance with rule 5.8 and the opposing team shall receive a bye into the next round of the competition."
The match was called off on Tuesday, just hours before the scheduled start time.
Tottenham paid for Leyton Orient's coronavirus testing after the O's drew 2-2 against Mansfield in League Two action on Saturday. Spurs were looking for assurances before making the trip to Brisbane Road for the clash, with EFL clubs not required to be tested weekly like Premier League sides.
On Monday, Leyton Orient confirmed several positive tests, and the game was later cancelled.
Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho had previously professed his frustration at the Carabao Cup schedule and bemoaned a "world of contradictions" after West Ham played Hull City despite their own Covid-19 cases.
"In relation to the EFL Cup, my initial feeling was when people don't respect us, why should we respect the competition?" he said.
"But in the end, it is a competition where I have a history, Tottenham have a history. It is the last trophy that Tottenham won. It is another competition where we think we have the same rights as others to try to compete.
"In relation to testing and Covid and all this situation, there are so many contradictions that I don't want to go into, this world of contradictions.
"I see so many contradictions, the way different countries react to it, the way football authorities in different countries react to it. There are so many contradictions that, honestly, I just do what I'm told to do. I don't want to get into that."