A fine victory over League One Luton had seemed to have sent Swindon into the last eight of the Vertu Trophy, where they would have had a home tie against Plymouth Argyle; however, two errors with their line-up that night have denied them that opportunity.

The EFL have decided to fine Swindon £40,000, of which half will be suspended, along with removing them from the competition over the incident.

The statement said: “An Independent Disciplinary Commission has determined that Swindon Town Football Club is to be removed from this season’s Vertu Trophy competition for breaches of EFL Regulations and EFL Trophy Rules.

“The Club has also been issued with a fine of £40,000, of which £20,000 will be suspended and which will be automatically payable if the Club fields or names on a team sheet an ineligible player before the end of the 2026/27 season.

 “The breaches relate to the Club fielding two ineligible players against Luton Town in the Vertu Trophy Round of 16 tie on 13 January 2026. Swindon Town won the game 2-1.

 “The Club played Oliver Clarke, who was serving a seven-game suspension from the Football Association. In addition, Aaron Drinan, who started the second half of the tie, was not named on the official team sheet.

 “As a result of the decision, Luton Town will progress into the Vertu Trophy Quarter-Final, where they will host Plymouth Argyle. The date of the tie will be confirmed in the next 48 hours and will now not take place on Tuesday 10 February 2026 as originally scheduled following a request from Plymouth Argyle earlier today.”

It was noticed during the match that Aaron Drinan was not named on the substitutes bench, with Ryan Tafazolli erroneously listed instead, and the Irish striker was brought on at half time.

Then, after the match, the EFL charged Swindon with not only playing Drinan, but also Ollie Clarke, who was still serving a seven-match suspension for committing a “highly violating” act against Cardiff City in August.

The Adver sought clarification over Clarke’s ban in December, and The FA confirmed that it did include the Vertu Trophy, although Swindon claim that this was not what was shown on the portal.

The FA ruled on Clarke’s inclusion in the side and decided that Swindon had been in violation of his suspension by playing Clarke, and handed them a £1,000 fine and suspended the midfielder for an extra game.

And on the issue with Drinan, Ian Holloway suggested that the team was submitted digitally with the error, but they had not had the chance to correct the mistake as the officials did not confirm the selection with them.

An independent disciplinary committee looked into the matter, and have decided that Swindon would be taken out of the competition and Luton will play Plymouth instead.

This means that Swindon’s clash with Newport County will still take place on February 11, which is being shown like on Sky Sports Football.