Grimsby Town have been fined £20,000 by the English Football League (EFL) with £10,000 suspended until the end of the 2025/26 season after fielding an ineligible player in their League Cup victory over Manchester United.

In a statement on Tuesday, EFL said the sanction follows the club’s use of an ineligible player, Clarke Oduor, in their Round Two tie against Manchester United at Blundell Park on 27 August 2025. Grimsby went on to progress to Round Three after a dramatic 12-11 penalty shoot-out victory.

The error occurred when Oduor’s registration was submitted at 12:01pm, just one minute after the 12:00pm deadline stipulated under competition rules. The club self-reported the mistake the following day once the breach was identified.

After a full review, the EFL Board ruled that a fine was consistent with previous cases, while noting Grimsby’s error was not intentional and that there had been no attempt to deceive.

The Board also acknowledged the club’s swift corrective measures to avoid a repeat of such an incident.

However, the suspended £10,000 will be activated if Grimsby Town field another ineligible player in any League competition before the end of the 2025/26 season.

Responding to EFL, Grimsby said in a statement that their “non-compliance was not deliberate with no intention to deceive or mislead”.

“The registration 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,” read a Grimsby statement.

“We accept the fine imposed and fully recognise the importance of adhering to competition rules. 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.

“We thank the EFL board for recognising our co-operation and intent.”