Manchester United Has A BIG Chance To Make It To Carabao Cup, Thanks To A Blunder Made By This Little Known Team

League Two club Grimsby Town shocked top flight champions Manchester United and made the third round of the Carabao Cup in the second round after a 2-2 draw through a breathless 12-11 penalty shootout. This was spoiled by an administrative error because midfielder Clarke Oduor had been on loan to Bradford City, he was registered after 12 pm, one minute later than the deadline required by the competition rules, making him technically ineligible.

Grimsby Town’s Blunder

In good faith, Grimsby self reported the filing error the day following the match, attributing it to a computer malfunction that made it impossible to submit the filing on time. The English Football League (EFL) approved the explanation and fined them £20,000, withholding the payment of the remaining ten thousand pounds without any further breach of a rule this season. Manchester United did not seek to have the result overturned because it would have been seen as taking advantage of a technicality to remain in the competition. The ruling by the EFL is based on precedent in other previous cases involving clubs such as Liverpool, Accrington Stanley and Sunderland where they were fined but not banned.

Grimsby Town’s Blunder, Not The First Time

And this unusual case reminds of an older situation in 1999 when West Ham United had to play a game in League Cup again because of a player eligibility problem, but that was in a different context, and the rules have since changed.

Grimsby will then meet Sheffield Wednesday in the third round, with Sheffield Wednesday no doubt pleased by the publicity surrounding their previous victory, and with a newfound belief that their internal procedures are now up to the regulatory mark. In the meantime, United will shift their attention elsewhere.

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