He has fallen foul of a change in the disciplinary rules for the competition this season
11:19, 08 Jan 2026
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Pierce Sweeney of Exeter City celebrates after winning during the Sky Bet League 1 Match between Exeter City and Luton Town at St James Park, Devon on 1 January 2026. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Exeter City will be without their captain Pierce Sweeney on the pitch for the FA Cup third round tie at Manchester City.
The Irishman, who is in the midst of his testimonial season with the Grecians, is unavailable for the trip to the Etihad through suspension.
The defender picked up yellow cards in both the 2-0 win away to Halifax Town in round one, and then the 4-0 second round win over Wycombe Wanderers.
He has fallen foul of a rule change by the FA for this season which means the threshold for two yellow cards equalling a suspension kicks in from the first round proper (or third round for teams entering then).
In previous seasons, the two yellow card threshold only kicked in from the third round onwards, with it the threshold being four yellow cards for all teams entering earlier than that stage – which is why Ryan Woods was able to feature in round three last season despite being booked in both City’s first and second round games.
However, for this season, four bookings is only for team entering the qualifying rounds, with all teams from round one having a threshold of two bookings equalling a suspension. As a result, Sweeney is unable to feature in the FA Cup clash.
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Pierce Sweeney of Exeter City during the Sky Bet League 1 Match between Exeter City and Luton Town at St James Park, Devon on 1 January 2026. Photo: Tom Sandberg/PPAUK
Were Exeter City to progress to round four, then Ethan Brierley, Jack Aitchison and Johnly Yfeko would miss out, if they were to be booked at the Etihad.
“It's always a blow when your captain misses a game,” manager Gary Caldwell said. “But we've known that for a long time, so we're prepared for it, and I think you could see from the starting team on Sunday, what our intention is and how we're going to set up in terms of defensively.
“So we're prepared for that. It's disappointing for him, but he's still got a big part to play in our preparation in how he helps the team and he will obviously travel with us as well. So he's still got a big role to play.”
It means it is unclear who will wear the armband with Jack Fitzwater, Ed Turns, Reece Cole and Josh Magennis all having done so in Sweeney’s absence before.
“It's a shame Sweenz is missing out because he is the leader of our team,” Reece Cole added. “He is I would say the dad figure, but he's probably more like the grandad figure in the team.
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“Obviously it's a shame he's not playing. But I'd like to hopefully, if the chance was available to be captain, I'd relish that moment to be captain against one of the best teams in the world at one of probably the best stadiums in the country would be an amazing achievement for myself, but as long as I'm out on that pitch, nothing else worries me too much.”