Grimsby Town have been fined £20,000 after fielding an ineligible player in their stunning Carabao Cup upset of Manchester United.
Ruben Amorim’s reign as United head coach sunk to a new low as the Red Devils were dumped out of the competition by their League Two opposition in a thriller at Blundell Park.
The visitors had managed to claw themselves back into the second-round contest as a pair of late goals from Bryan Mbeumo and Harry Maguire cancelled out Charles Vernam and Tyrell Warren’s earlier efforts.
But Mbeumo missed a decisive penalty in a nerve-shredding shootout to send Grimsby into the third round, with fellow summer signing Matheus Cunha also failing from the spot.
Grimsby’s home support taunted Amorim with chants of, ‘You’re getting sacked in the morning’, throughout the clash and the despondent Portuguese admitted after the loss that ‘something had to change’ for his team.
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But on Tuesday morning, a week on from the encounter, it emerged that Grimsby had reported themselves to the EFL for fielding Clarke Oduor in the match.
Oduor – who joined Grimsby on loan from Bradford City this summer – came on as a second-half substitute for George McEachran and missed the hosts’ third penalty in the shootout.
It came to light that Grimsby had submitted the registration of Oduor at 12:01 pm on the day prior to the fixture, missing the 12:00 pm deadline by a matter of seconds.
A statement on the EFL’s official website confirmed that a ‘comprehensive review of all the evidence’ had determined that the mistake ‘was not deliberate’ and Grimsby had ‘no intention of deceiving or misleading’.
Grimsby will be required to pay £10,000 of the fine up front and the second installment will be suspended until the conclusion of the 2025/26 campaign.
The club will be liable for the suspended sum of £10,000 should they repeat the same mistake in any EFL competition between now and the end of the season.
EFL statement on Grimsby rule breach in full
The EFL Board, acting as the Management Committee of the Carabao Cup, has today fined Grimsby Town Football Club £20,000 – of which £10,000 will be suspended until the end of Season 2025/26 – for having breached the Rules of the competition.
The breach relates to the Club fielding an ineligible player against Manchester United in a Round Two tie on 27 August 2025. Grimsby Town progressed to Round Three following a 12-11 penalty shoot-out win at Blundell Park.
The circumstances leading to this transgression are that Grimsby Town submitted the registration of Clarke Oduor at 12:01 pm on the day before the fixture i.e. shortly after the 12:00 pm deadline required in accordance with the 2025/26 competition rules.
The Club self-reported the breach upon discovery the day after the fixture had been completed.
Following a comprehensive review of all the evidence and considering prior decisions taken in respect of offences in the League Cup, the Board determined that the issuing of a fine followed precedent.
The Board further noted the Club’s non-compliance was not deliberate with no intention to deceive or mislead. The Club has since implemented several actions to prevent a similar occurrence in the future.
The Club will be liable for the suspended sum of £10,000, if they were to again field an ineligible player in any League Competition between now and the end of Season 2025/26.
Grimsby confirmed that the club fully accepted the fine that had been handed down, while putting the registration blunder down to a ‘computer problem’.
‘Grimsby Town Football Club acknowledges today’s decision by the EFL regarding an error in the registration of Clarke Oduor ahead of our Carabao Cup Round Two fixture against Manchester United,’ a statement on the club’s website read.
‘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.
‘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.’
Grimsby stressed that they had taken steps to ensure that similar mistakes would not be repeated in the future.
The statement continued: ‘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.
‘The Club won’t make any further comment on the matter and now looks forward to focusing on preparations for our upcoming fixtures.’
Grimsby were rewarded with a trip to Sheffield Wednesday as the draw for the third round of the cup was made last week.
Henrik Pedersen’s Wednesday side ensured their progression with a penalty-shootout victory over their own at home to Leeds.
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