Online Reporter
LONDON. – Manchester United refused the chance to grab a Carabao Cup lifeline − despite League Two conquerors Grimsby fielding an ineligible player.
Midfielder Clark Oduor, a second-half substitute for the Mariners in their shock second-round triumph, was not registered until one minute after the deadline for last week’s tie.
But United, who were told that Grimsby had been merely fined £20,000 by EFL chiefs on Monday, chose NOT to appeal, despite many of their fans urging them to do so.
The speculation is that United − who had five days to contest the decision − feared they would be in a lose-lose scenario if they tried to use a technicality to either engineer a replay or to take Grimsby’s place in the third round against Sheffield Wednesday. Pushing the EFL to reinstate them might have given Ruben Amorim and his side a second chance to put the record straight but would have left United open to ridicule from rival fans.
And instead, the club − which chose to make no comment − decided to take the shoot-out defeat on the chin − and give up the option to try to rekindle their cup hopes.
Kenyan Oduor, 26, was making his debut for the Blundell Park side after completing a loan move from Bradford and missed his spot kick in the shootout that the League Two side won 12-11.
But Grimsby then admitted to EFL chiefs that they had submitted his registration at one minute after the 12 noon match deadline last Tuesday, the day before the game, meaning he was INELIGIBLE to play.
Despite that, EFL bosses said that after a “comprehensive review of all the evidence and considering prior decisions” a fine − with £10,000 of the cash suspended until the end of the season − was the appropriate sanction rather than eliminating Grimsby or ordering a replay. – The Sun
