A final verdict from Grimsby Town's astonishing victory over Manchester United and their subsequent fine from the EFL for fielding an ineligible player.
Liam is a senior sports journalist who currently operates across several centres with the Reach PLC network. He has worked for various Reach publications since graduating from the University of Huddersfield with a First Class honours degree in Sports Journalism & Media in 2012. His current duties - for the Manchester Evening News, Liverpool Echo and football.london - include writing news articles, trends pieces, live blogging and matchday content. He previously covered League Two side Grimsby Town, breaking exclusive stories on manager sackings, player signings and takeover developments.
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim sat in the dugout at Blundell Park.
Man Utd head coach Ruben Amorim sat in the dugout at Blundell Park.
There will be no Carabao Cup reprieve for Manchester United this season - despite Grimsby Town fielding an ineligible player during their astonishing victory over the Old Trafford giants in their second round showdown.
Grimsby went 2-0 up at Blundell Park and, while they were eventually pegged back, the League Two side held nerve to go through via penalties. A headline-worthy night in its own right, the aftermath has been filled with a clamour - in some sections - to kick the Mariners out of the competition!
Instead, the Lincolnshire club were fined by the EFL for registering Clarke Oduor a minute after their cut-off. He made his debut for Grimsby against United - playing as a second-half substitute. The on-loan Bradford City man even missed his spot kick.
A huge talking point up and down the country, the reality is that Grimsby will go through and United, who The Manchester Evening News understands had no plans to launch an appeal or press the matter further, must now come to terms with their eye-catching defeat.
But the impact rumbles on. Here, our writers share their thoughts on what SHOULD have happened;
Liam Wood
It's a bit of a storm in a teacup really, for my money. Grimsby held their hands up, co-operated fully with the EFL and have been handed a reflective punishment.
United, to their credit, have distanced themselves from the nitty-gritty here. It's really just outside noise that has gathered and spiralled through media publications and pundits.
As the Grimsby manager said, this shouldn't derail a monumental achievement from the League Two side. I think now is the right time to move on.
Jack Flintham
After this whole saga, it feels as though the EFL will have to change their rules to bring them in line with the FA Cup. Currently in the Carabao Cup, there appears to be little incentive for bigger clubs to rush to register players.
While £20,000 is a significant sum to Grimsby and will clearly keep them in line in the future, where is the warning to the Premier League clubs? The irony in this situation is that the player who was ineligible did more harm than good for the League Two club but you are in dangerous territory when you decide the punishment based upon the impact that person had on the game.
Should United be pursuing this further? No, they should not.
Current rules state that it is not an infringement that should result in the club being expelled from the competition or a replay being ordered. But, moving forward, the EFL should look to change the rules so that actual sanctions are handed to teams.
Will Jenkins
I understand the reason why so many United fans have called for a replay.
Let's take a hypothetical scenario where the roles are reversed; United field an ineligible player and Grimsby lose the match. The entire football community would be outraged that a big club had escaped with just a fine, while Grimsby, a club who sees a competition such as the Carabao Cup as important for recognition and extra finances, were denied the opportunity of a replay.
That said, while I can sympathise with United's fans, I do believe the situation has been blown out of proportion. The real story from that game isn't Grimsby's ineligible player, it's United's defeat to a League Two side.
Amie Wilson
This may be the football fan and lover of an underdog coming through here, but I think the punishment given to Grimsby is about right. The fact that the issue was self-reported and that the club have owned up to the mistake makes it obvious that it was a genuine mistake.
The registration is said to have come one minute after the deadline and, while the deadline is there for a reason, there should be some leeway and common sense that is used when making judgements.
Fair enough, if it was half-an-hour after the deadline and the issue had only been found out by an investigation - with the club not acknowledging it - then it would be a completely different situation.
It feels like while they need to be punished, as the rules have been broken, a fine is the right way. Throwing them out of the competition would feel like overkill and, if that did happen, there would then be a decision to be made on if United were reinstated or Sheffield Wednesday - who play Grimsby next up - got a bye.
For the crime, the punishment decided on seems proportionate.
Bruna Reis
It's understandable why so many United fans have called for a replay. At the same time, it was clearly a genuine mistake by Grimsby - and they owned up to it immediately.
Mistakes like these are part of football and, after Grimsby's historic win, any greater punishment would be unfair and diminish the significance of their achievement. Even if that result had gone the other way, head coach Ruben Amorim made it clear - after the final whistle - that his team did not deserve the win.
It's a reminder that football is about more than results - it's about effort, fairness and these significant moments that make the sport memorable. While I do understand some of the frustration from United fans, the club simply have to move on - as they look to have done.
United have better things to put their full focus and energy into.
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