Grimsby Town have been fined for fielding an ineligible player in their Carabao Cup second round match with Manchester United, but they have not been barred from the competition
Archie Griggs, Samuel Meade and Kieran Horn
12:53, 05 Sep 2025Updated 12:59, 05 Sep 2025
Manchester United have been sent a fresh Carabao Cup verdict after Grimsby Town fielded an inillegible player(Image: (Photo by George Wood/Getty Images))
Jason Cundy has joined the growing list of pundits calling for Grimsby Town to be thrown out of the Carabao Cup following their use of an ineligible player in their remarkable victory over Manchester United – although he believes the Red Devils shouldn’t be handed a reprieve.
Grimsby supporters celebrated what many consider the finest night in their club’s recent memory as they stunned the Premier League giants, eventually winning 12-11 on penalties after letting a two-goal slip in 90 minutes.
However, an administrative error involving Clarke Oduor has cast a shadow over the Mariners’ achievement. Instead of being kicked out of the competition, they have been handed a financial penalty and allowed to continue into the third round, where they will face Sheffield Wednesday.
Darren Bent has already voiced his opinion that Grimsby should be eliminated from the tournament, maintaining that if Oduor contributed to ending United’s campaign, appropriate punishment must be imposed.
The former England forward commented: “You have to question Grimsby’s place in the competition.”
Cundy has now taken a similar stance, maintaining that the rules must be upheld – though United shouldn’t be offered another opportunity, with Sheffield Wednesday instead progressing directly.
He told talkSPORT: “First off, if you break the rules like that I don’t see how Grimsby can be in the competition, I genuinely don’t. It sounds harsh but if that had happened the other way round, would we say: ‘No, its fine, £20,000 fine for Man Utd’? Are we now judging it by the club? They broke the rules. I’m sorry, you have to leave the competition.
“I don’t think Man Utd should get in either by the way. They got knocked out. What should happen now, whoever they’re facing, they should get a bye. Grimsby should not be in the competition. If there’s a law it should be the same for everyone.”
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He added: “Sorry, this sounds very harsh, but there’s laws and rules for a reason, and if you break those the punishment has to be. We’ve just seen what happened with Crystal Palace.”
Oduor had arrived at Grimsby on loan from Bradford City the day before the match. The player made his debut after coming on as a substitute during the second half, though he would miss his spot-kick in the penalty shootout – luckily without damaging his new side’s prospects.
It later emerged that his registration had been completed just one minute after the mandatory 12pm deadline on August 26.
In an official statement, the EFL confirmed that Grimsby had voluntarily reported the error, whilst detailing the punishment for the League Two club – a ruling that hasn’t received widespread approval.
They announced: “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.”
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