{"id":275513,"date":"2026-02-05T14:05:14","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:05:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/275513\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T14:05:14","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T14:05:14","slug":"i-dont-understand-pep-guardiola-set-for-disappointment-after-pleading-for-carabao-cup-final-rule-change","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/il\/275513\/","title":{"rendered":"\u2018I Don\u2019t Understand\u2019\u2014Pep Guardiola Set for Disappointment After Pleading for Carabao Cup Final Rule Change"},"content":{"rendered":"

Pep Guardiola wants the EFL to change competition rules in the Carabao Cup so that Manchester City defender Marc Gu\u00e9hi will be allowed to play in next month\u2019s final, but will not get his way.<\/p>\n

Gu\u00e9hi is not eligible because he wasn\u2019t signed until after the first leg of the semi-final had already been played. Having joined for \u00a320 million ($27.2 million) from Crystal Palace, he could not play in the 3\u20131 win over Newcastle United this week<\/a> and cannot face Arsenal at Wembley.<\/p>\n

But, with the EFL scrapping cup-tied rules for this season\u2014whereby a player could not previously represent two different clubs in the competition in a single campaign\u2014Antoine Semenyo is able to play, joining City before the semi-finals. Guardiola said he doesn\u2019t \u201cunderstand\u201d why it should be any different for Gu\u00e9hi, given that the club pays his salary.<\/p>\n

\u201cHopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc can play the final. I don\u2019t understand why he cannot play the final,\u201d Guardiola said after securing City\u2019s progression to the Wembley showpiece for the first time in five years.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou buy a player for a lot of money and he is not able to play for a rule I don\u2019t understand. Hopefully they can change it. Antoine arrived before the first [leg] so could play. And now it\u2019s the final. Why should [Gu\u00e9hi] not play? We pay his salary, he is our player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Who Will Play Instead of Gu\u00e9hi in Carabao Cup Final?<\/p>\n

Guardiola stated that he told Manchester City<\/a> officials they \u201chave to ask\u201d about Gu\u00e9hi being allowed to play in the Carabao Cup final\u2014\u201cit\u2019s pure logic\u201d to at least try.<\/p>\n

But he was already resigned to not getting the answer from the EFL that he wants anyway and Martyn Ziegler<\/a> of The Times has since reported that the EFL won\u2019t change rules that have already been relaxed this season as it is, so City\u2019s pleas are set to fall on deaf ears.<\/p>\n

EFL will not change its rules to allow Guehi to play for Man City in Carabao Cup final despite Guardiola’s plea.
Rules were already eased at start of season to allow players to appear for more than one club if it was before the semi-final 1st leg (which means Semenyo can play).<\/p>\n

\u2014 Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) February 5, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n

It means that Gu\u00e9hi, who lined up on the opposite side when Crystal Palace beat City in last season\u2019s FA Cup final, will only be a spectator for the Arsenal showdown under the famous arch.<\/p>\n

The England international has been an immediate starter for his new club in the Premier League, playing 90 minutes against Wolverhampton Wanderers and Tottenham Hotspur alongside impressive young Uzbekistan star Abdukodir Khusanov. In the Carabao Cup on Wednesday, Nathan Ak\u00e9, a player on managed minutes due to fitness limitations, took that place next to Khusanov.<\/p>\n

Ak\u00e9 was replaced at half-time by 20-year-old Max Alleyne, recalled from a loan at Watford last month to help cover the defensive shortfall in the squad. But R\u00faben Dias was also back on the bench after recovering from the hamstring injury that had kept him sidelined for a month.<\/p>\n

Come the final on March 22, Dias should be well up to speed to play with Khusanov, assuming there are no related or unrelated fitness setbacks.<\/p>\n

Gu\u00e9hi to Make Champions League Debut in March\"Marc<\/p>\n

Marc Gu\u00e9hi can be added to the Champions League squad. | Ed Sykes\/Sportsphoto\/Allstar\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Although Gu\u00e9hi doesn\u2019t look like he will play in the Carabao Cup for Manchester City this season, his Champion League debut is now within reach.<\/p>\n

Following the end of the league phase, clubs competing in the knockout rounds can make up to three changes to the \u2018A\u2019 list squads registered with UEFA back in September. That will allow January signings\u2014like Gu\u00e9hi and Semenyo\u2014to be included for the second half of the season.<\/p>\n

Semenyo, despite immediately being eligible for the Carabao Cup, had to miss the last two league phase fixtures against B\u00f8do\/Glimt and Galatasaray because he wasn\u2019t in the UEFA squad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

But both Gu\u00e9hi and Semenyo will be eligible when City take on Real Madrid, Benfica, B\u00f8do\/Glimt or Inter in the round of 16, which starts from March 10.<\/p>\n

\"Antoine<\/p>\n

Antoine Semenyo has never played in a European competition. | Marc Atkins\/Getty Images<\/p>\n

Neither player has ever appeared in the Champions League before, with Semenyo\u2019s career journey up the EFL ladder meaning he is yet to experience European competition of any kind.<\/p>\n

Gu\u00e9hi only got his first taste of UEFA action during Crystal Palace\u2019s Conference League campaign in the first half of this season, although he was an unused substitute for a Champions League fixture when Chelsea were beaten by Valencia at Stamford Bridge in September 2019.<\/p>\n

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