Grimsby Town fielded an ineligible player in their shock Carabao Cup win over Manchester United – but the Premier League club have no plans to push for a rematch.
The player in question – Clarke Oduor – was registered at 12.01pm on the day prior to the match at Blundell Park, missing the 12pm registration deadline by 60 seconds.
Oduor came on in the 73rd minute in place of George McEachran with the League Two side leading 2-0. He would go on to be the only Grimsby Town player to miss in the penalty shootout, which United lost 12-11 to be knocked out.
The breach, which Grimsby Town reported themselves directly to the EFL, has been met with a £20,000 fine with £10,000 of that suspended until the end of the 2025-26 season.
Daily Mail Sport understands that Manchester United have chosen not to escalate the matter further amid calls from supporters for the match to be replayed, or for Grimsby Town to be kicked out of the competition.
In 2019, Liverpool were fined £200,000 but avoided League Cup expulsion after fielding midfielder Pedro Chirivella in a third round win over MK Dons.
Grimsby Town fielded an ineligible player in their stunning Carabao Cup win over Man United
Ruben Amorim’s side lost in a penalty shootout in a match where Clarke Oduor (right) featured, despite being registered 60 seconds past 12pm deadline. United are not escalating the matter
But in the FA Cup in 2023, Barnsley were kicked out of the competition after utilising an ineligible player in a first round replay win over non-league Horsham Town.
In that instance the player was not eligible for the first game between the sides and so was deemed ineligible for the replay. All of these cases were considered by United before the decision was made to accept the EFL’s sanction.
‘The registration of Oduor was submitted to the EFL at one minute past the deadline and the issue was not immediately identified by the Club due to a computer problem being experienced at Grimsby,’ a Grimsby Town statement on Tuesday read.
‘We accept the fine imposed and fully recognise the importance of adhering to competition rules and regulations. This mistake was not deliberate, and the Club acted transparently by self-reporting the breach as soon as it came to light.
‘Since this incident, we have undertaken a thorough review of our processes and implemented strengthened measures to ensure it cannot happen again.
‘We thank the EFL Board for recognising our co-operation and intent, and we remain fully committed to maintaining the highest professional and regulatory standards.’
