Although he doesn’t think the Red Devils should be given a reprieve, Jason Cundy has joined the rising number of commentators who are demanding for Grimsby Town to be eliminated from the Carabao Cup after they used an ineligible player in their incredible triumph over Manchester United.
After letting a two-goal goal slip in 90 minutes, Grimsby upset the Premier League heavyweights, winning 12–11 on penalties. The fans celebrated what many consider to be the best night in their club’s recent history.
However, the Mariners’ accomplishment has been clouded by an administrative blunder involving Clarke Oduor. They were given a financial penalty and permitted to advance to the third round, where they would play Sheffield Wednesday, rather than being eliminated from the competition.
Grimsby should be removed from the tournament, according to Darren Bent, who has already stated that if Oduor helped terminate United’s campaign, the proper penalty should be applied.
The former forward for England said: “You have to question Grimsby’s place in the competition.”
Cundy has since adopted a similar position, arguing that the regulations must be followed even if Sheffield Wednesday should advance straight ahead of United and United shouldn’t be given another chance.
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.”
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.”
The day before the game, Oduor had come to Grimsby on loan from Bradford City. Although he would miss his penalty kick in the shootout, the player made his debut after substituting in the second half, fortunately without harming the chances of his new team.
Later, it was discovered that he had registered only one minute past the required August 26 deadline of 12 p.m.
The EFL acknowledged in a formal statement that Grimsby had voluntarily reported the error and described the League Two team’s penalty, a decision that hasn’t been widely accepted.
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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