Marc Guehi will not face Newcastle United tonight due to new EFL Cup rule despite Antoine Semenyo being allowed
Newcastle United fans were furious that Antoine Semenyo was able to take to the pitch against them in the Carabao Cup semi-final first leg last month.
Manchester City signed Semenyo from Bournemouth in January, and even though the goal-machine winger had already represented Bournemouth in the competition, he was allowed to play for Man City against the Magpies.
As it turns out, the rule that would normally mean a player can't represent two clubs in a cup competition in the same season was scrapped for the Carabao Cup this season, allowing Man City to field their new forward.
It didn't take long for him to make an impact, either, scoring the opening goal of the game and then having another goal chalked off for a ridiculous offside decision.
Marc Guehi will not be involved for Manchester City tonight
Given that Newcastle had to field their fourth-choice goalkeeper in the EFL Cupfinal two years prior, it was a big gut-punch for Newcastle.
Since then, Man City have signed defender Marc Guehi from Crystal Palace, strengthening their side even further.
However, Guehi, unlike Semenyo, is not eligible to play for Man City at the Etihad tonight.
The rule states that a player signed between the two legs who has already represented another club is ineligible
Even though players are now allowed to represent two clubs in one season, the fact that the first leg had already taken place before Guehi signed for City rules him out of this game.
“A Registered Player shall be permitted to play for up to two clubs in the competition in any one season where such player moved to a different club on a permanent transfer prior to the closure of the Winter Transfer Window, or the first leg of the semi-final (whichever is sooner).”
It's a small victory, but we'll take what we can get.
