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‘I Don’t Understand’—Pep Guardiola Set for Disappointment After Pleading for Carabao Cup Final Rule Change
Pep Guardiola wants the EFL to change competition rules in the Carabao Cup so that Manchester City defender Marc Guéhi will be allowed to play in next month’s final, but will not get his way.
Guéhi is not eligible because he wasn’t signed until after the first leg of the semi-final had already been played. Having joined for £20 million ($27.2 million) from Crystal Palace, he could not play in the 3–1 win over Newcastle United this week and cannot face Arsenal at Wembley.
But, with the EFL scrapping cup-tied rules for this season—whereby a player could not previously represent two different clubs in the competition in a single campaign—Antoine Semenyo is able to play, joining City before the semi-finals. Guardiola said he doesn’t “understand” why it should be any different for Guéhi, given that the club pays his salary.
“Hopefully we can convince the Carabao Cup that Marc can play the final. I don’t understand why he cannot play the final,” Guardiola said after securing City’s progression to the Wembley showpiece for the first time in five years.
“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. Antoine arrived before the first [leg] so could play. And now it’s the final. Why should [Guéhi] not play? We pay his salary, he is our player.”
Who Will Play Instead of Guéhi in Carabao Cup Final?
Guardiola stated that he told Manchester City officials they “have to ask” about Guéhi being allowed to play in the Carabao Cup final—“it’s pure logic” to at least try.
But he was already resigned to not getting the answer from the EFL that he wants anyway and Martyn Ziegler of The Times has since reported that the EFL won’t change rules that have already been relaxed this season as it is, so City’s pleas are set to fall on deaf ears.
EFL will not change its rules to allow Guehi to play for Man City in Carabao Cup final despite Guardiola's plea.
— Martyn Ziegler (@martynziegler) February 5, 2026
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).
It means that Guéhi, who lined up on the opposite side when Crystal Palace beat City in last season’s FA Cup final, will only be a spectator for the Arsenal showdown under the famous arch.
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 Aké, a player on managed minutes due to fitness limitations, took that place next to Khusanov.
Aké 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 Rúben Dias was also back on the bench after recovering from the hamstring injury that had kept him sidelined for a month.
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.
Guéhi to Make Champions League Debut in March
Although Guéhi doesn’t look like he will play in the Carabao Cup for Manchester City this season, his Champion League debut is now within reach.
Following the end of the league phase, clubs competing in the knockout rounds can make up to three changes to the ‘A’ list squads registered with UEFA back in September. That will allow January signings—like Guéhi and Semenyo—to be included for the second half of the season.
Semenyo, despite immediately being eligible for the Carabao Cup, had to miss the last two league phase fixtures against Bødo/Glimt and Galatasaray because he wasn’t in the UEFA squad.
But both Guéhi and Semenyo will be eligible when City take on Real Madrid, Benfica, Bødo/Glimt or Inter in the round of 16, which starts from March 10.
Neither player has ever appeared in the Champions League before, with Semenyo’s career journey up the EFL ladder meaning he is yet to experience European competition of any kind.
Guéhi only got his first taste of UEFA action during Crystal Palace’s 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.
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Jamie Spencer is a freelance editor and writer for Sports Illustrated FC. Jamie fell in love with football in the mid-90s and specializes in the Premier League, Manchester United, the women’s game and old school nostalgia.