Barrow players have reportedly been offered a higher bonus to lose to Chelsea in their Carabao Cup fixture than to win.
The League Two side drew an away tie against Premier League giants Chelsea during the Carabao Cup third round draw last month.
It will be only the second-ever time that Barrow and Chelsea have faced each other, with the London club emphatically winning the 1948 FA Cup tie 5-0.
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But ahead of the two club's clash on September 24, a new report has revealed that Barrow have been offered a better financial incentive to lose the third-round tie than to produce an upset win.
The Telegraph claim to have seen details of the Barrow squad's potential bonuses depending on the outcome of the match, stating that they will be paid £1,000 each if they lose the third-round tie and a significantly smaller £250 should they win.
This information immediately raised concerns over the integrity of the competition, with Barrow players seemingly given a significant financial incentive to intentionally lose the match.
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The EFL are said to be annoyed by Barrow's bonus scheme, which technically does not breach regulations, and expect the club to explain themselves given the fact that this is the first time a club has offered a bigger bonus to lose a match than to win it.
Barrow sources close to The Telegraph are said to have confirmed that the bonus sheet contains several errors that will be corrected and that this has been communicated to the EFL.
All player bonuses at the club are agreed at the start of the season before being officially submitted to the EFL.
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The bonus scheme for the EFL cup reportedly offers a £250 to each player in rounds one to five, but the scheme also offers each player a bonus of £1,000 if they lose to a tie to Premier League club in the third round or later.
Should the League Two team face a Championship club and lose, they would also earn £750 as opposed to the smaller win bonus.
Even if they somehow went the whole way and won the competition, players would only be granted a bonus of a further £1,000.
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SPORTbible have reached out to the EFL and Barrow for comment.
Topics: Carabao Cup, Chelsea, Football
Ben McCrum