Pep Guardiola has expressed disappointment over the rule which could make Marc Guehi miss Manchester City’s EFL Cup final against Arsenal and has revealed that the club plans to lodge an appeal.
According to the EFL rules, any player who misses the first leg of the cup semifinal will be ineligible for the final, should the team progress to that stage.
This made Guehi, who joined Manchester City in a £20 million deal from Crystal Palace last month, miss the second leg win over Newcastle United on Wednesday night, as he had already missed the first leg as well.
“Hopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc [Guehi] can play the final. I don’t understand why he cannot play the final,” Guardiola said.
“You buy a player for a lot of money and he is not able to play for a rule I don’t understand. Hopefully they can change it.”
Meanwhile, Antoine Semenyo, who also joined the Cityzens from Bournemouth last month is eligible to play and featured in both legs of the semifinal.
Under previous seasons, he would have been cup-tied but was eligible to play due to the changes made to the rules earlier in the season.
“Antoine arrived before the first [game] so could play. And now it’s the final. Why should he [Guehi] not play? Why not? We pay his salary, he is our player,” Guardiola argued.
“I said to the club, they have to ask, definitely. I don’t understand the reason why he cannot play in the final in March, when I have been here for a long time.
“The rules to buy a player depends on Fifa, Uefa, the Premier League who say, OK the transfer window is open, when you buy a player you have to play, no? It’s logic. Of course we are going to try to ask [for] him to play. Pure logic”, he continued.
It is highly expected that the EFL turns down their appeal ahead of the final clash against Arsenal at Wembley on March 22.
Olakitan is a young writer with a strong passion for sports, having gained experience with IndyPress and Nimelssa Press. His enthusiasm for sports inspired him to cover events both within his school and beyond. With a deep understanding of the game and a refined skillset, he brings sports coverage to a broad, global audience in a way that’s engaging and accessible.
