Manchester City have contacted the EFL wanting to allow Marc Guehi to play in the Carabao Cup final against Arsenal, despite regulations preventing him from registering his £30m contract.
Pep Guardiola is furious (Image: Robin Jones/Getty Images)
The Football League has rejected Manchester City’s request to have Marc Guehi play in the Carabao Cup final. Manager Josep Guardiola is furious that new signing Guehi will not be eligible to play in the match against Arsenal on March 22nd.
This season, EFL rules have been adjusted to allow players to feature for two different teams in the same campaign, with Antoine Semenyo starting both games in the semi-final against Newcastle United. However, Guehi arrived at the Etihad in a £30m deal after the first leg and was therefore ruled out of next month’s second leg and subsequent final.
Guardiola was unimpressed and revealed City leaders would be contacting the EFL to try to turn the situation around. But City’s pleas have fallen on deaf ears, with the league insisting there will be no changes to the rules to accommodate Guehi.
The news is a huge blow to Guardiola, who is looking to win his first domestic trophy this season, and a huge boost for Arsenal rival Mikel Arteta.
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Guardiola will be without defenders Ruben Dias, John Stones and Josko Gvardiol due to injuries. And with Guehi having to miss the first final of the season, he will be desperate to get some players back to face Arteta’s side.
After beating Newcastle 5-1 on aggregate to book their ticket to Wembley, Guardiola said it was “pure logic” that Guehi should be allowed to register. “Hopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup to allow Marc to play in the final,” said the City manager.
“I don’t understand why he can’t play in the final. They paid a lot of money to buy a player and he can’t play with rules that I don’t understand. I hope they change that.”
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Antoine Semenyo and Mark Guehi were signed on either side of the cut-off (Image: Michael Regan/Getty Images)
“Antoine first arrived before (the match) so he could play, and now it’s the final. Why shouldn’t he (Guehi) play? Why not? We pay his salary, he’s our player.”
“I said to the club that I have to definitely ask. I don’t understand why he can’t play in the final in March when I’ve been here so long.”
“The rules for signing players are up to FIFA, UEFA and the Premier League. Are they going to say, ‘The transfer window is open, when you sign a player you have to play’? That’s logic. Of course we’re going to ask him to play. Pure logic.
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