Eddie Howe denied that he was ‘bitter’ that Antoine Semenyo ended up playing a key role in Manchester City’s 2-0 Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United.
Pep Guardiola’s side now have a clear advantage heading into next month’s semi-final second leg at the Etihad Stadium.
Semenyo made it two goals in two appearances since his £64million move from AFC Bournemouth as he opened the scoring early in the second half. The winger thought he’d made it 2-0 shortly after as he flicked the ball in from a corner only for a lengthy VAR check to controversially rule out the goal.
The five-and-a-half-minute check deemed Man City striker Erling Haaland to be in an offside position and interfering with play as Semenyo’s flick found the back of the net.
The decision gave Newcastle a lifeline in the tie, but City still found a second deep in stoppage time through substitute Rayan Cherki.
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Major rule change gave Man City huge boost v NUFC
Semenyo’s crucial role in the game came following a rule change introduced in domestic cup competitions in England this season that effectively prevents players from being ‘cup-tied’
Previously, players were tied to playing for just one club in domestic cup competitions in any given season.
It meant any player who had already represented a club in a cup competition would be deemed ‘cup-tied’ if they were to secure a transfer to another English club in the same season, and would be unable to play again in said competition.
It’s a rule that stopped Newcastle from playing both Anthony Gordon and Martin Dubravka in the 2023 Carabao Cup final after the pair had already represented Everton and Manchester United in the earlier rounds of the competition.
But Man City didn’t face such a restriction despite Semenyo playing for Bournemouth in a 2-0 Carabao Cup second round defeat at home to Brentford back in August.
The previous FA rules read: “A player shall only play for one club in the competition during the same season.”
But for the start of the 2025/26 season, those rules changed to state: “A player that has played for one Club in the Qualifying Competition and/or the Competition Proper may play for a maximum of one other Club in the Competition Proper (but may only play for a maximum of one Club in any given round of the Competition).”
And it just so happened that Semenyo’s availability for the tie ended up playing a role in the result.
Eddie Howe not ‘bitter’ as Man City benefit from rule change
Ahead of the match, Howe said: “It was nice to find out that rule had changed after finding out they'd signed him.
“Yeah, I have to say that's probably one rule change I probably wouldn't be supportive of at this current moment!
“Antoine's had an incredible season,” Howe added. “I'm a big admirer of his, and he scored on his debut, so fair play to him. I think Man City have signed a very, very good player.”
And after the game and Semenyo’s goal, Howe was asked if he was ‘bitter’ towards the rule change.
“No, I don’t think bitter is the right word,” Howe explained. “I think the rules are the rules, they’re there. I don’t think I can focus on that too much.”
But Howe did take issue with Semenyo’s opener, which was scored while Newcastle were forced to be down to 10 men due to Jacob Ramsey leaving the field with a head injury.
“I’d probably like to focus more on the fact we had 10 men when they scored their first goal because I just don’t get that rule,” Howe added. “JJ’s gone down with a head injury. To get an elbow in the head and we get punished for that, I don’t see that that’s right.”
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