Fresh from their historic win against English giants Manchester United in the Carabao Cup, English Football League (EFL) Two club Grimsby Town has been fined £20,000 (Ksh3.5 million) for fielding Kenyan player Clarke Oduor after it emerged that he was ineligible to play the game.
In a statement released by the EFL on Tuesday, September 2, its Board revealed that Oduor was ineligible to feature after Grimsby registered him a minute after the 12pm cap time a day before the fixture, breaching the competition’s rules.
Of the £20,000 fine, half of it will be suspended until the end of the current 2025/2026 season, with the club liable for the suspended sum of £10,000 (Ksh1.75 million) if they were to again field an ineligible player in any League Competition between now and the end of Season 2025/26.
“The EFL Board, acting as the Management Committee of the Carabao Cup, has today fined 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 statement read.
“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 timeline required in accordance with the 2025/26 competition rules,” it added.
The EFL noted that the club self-reported the breach upon discovery, the day after the fixture had been completed.
Despite the possibility of having the game replayed due to the infraction by Grimsby, the EFL, which governs the Carabao Cup, has a history of issuing fines instead of ordering replays or disqualifying teams for these types of infractions.
The EFL noted that the decision to fine Grimsby followed a comprehensive review of all the evidence and considered prior decisions taken in respect of offences in the League Cup, thus following precedent.
“The Board further noted the Club’s non-compliance was not deliberate, with no intention to deceive or mislead. The Club has since implemented several actions to prevent a similar occurrence in the future,” the EFL board added.
According to Daily Mail Sport, Manchester United chose not to escalate the matter further amid calls from supporters for the match to be replayed or for Grimsby Town to be kicked out of the competition.
Oduor, a Kenyan international who moved to Grimsby on loan from Bradford City, made his debut against the 20-time English Premier League (EPL) winners, coming on in the 73rd minute as a substitute when his team was two-nil up.
His signing had been confirmed on Tuesday, August 26, just hours before the highly anticipated second-round tie against Manchester United.
Oduor missed his spot kick, but that did not stop Grimsby from progressing to Round Three following a 12-11 penalty shoot-out win at Blundell Park. This was after United had managed to equalise and force the game into penalties.
Born in Nairobi, Oduor began his football journey in England after relocating to the UK at a young age.
His professional journey in football began at just 10 years old when he joined Leeds United's academy, rising through the ranks before making his professional debut for the club in January 2019.
Oduor is one of a string of Kenyan names who are plying their trade in Europe. Other notable names flying the flag high globally include Aldrine Kibet, who recently secured a high-profile move to Spanish top-tier club Celta Vigo.
