Grimsby Town fined after fielding ineligible Kenya midfielder Clarke Oduor against Man United

EFL Championship side Grimsby Town have been fined £20,000 for fielding an ineligible Kenya midfielder Clarke Oduor during their famous Carabao Cup win over Manchester United.

The Mariners, who knocked out the Premier League club on penalties after the tie finished 2-2 after 90 minutes, brought on the Harambee Stars player, who had joined on loan the day before from Bradford City, as a substitute but later realised he had been registered one minute and 59 seconds after the deadline.

A statement from EFL confirmed: “The EFL Board, acting as the Management Committee of the Carabao Cup, has today fine d 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.”

In their response to the fine, Grimsby Town acknowledged the decision by the EFL: “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. Since this incident, we have undertaken a thorough review of our processes and implemented strengthened measures to ensure it cannot happen again.”

The statement concluded: “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.”

Oduor came on in the 73rd minute and had his penalty saved by Andre Onana in the shootout, but Grimsby won 12-11.

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