Grimsby Town’s unforgettable triumph over Manchester United in the Carabao Cup was clouded by controversy after the club fielded a player who wasn’t properly registered. ..Continue Reading
The League Two side hosted the Premier League giants in the second round and, in a dramatic showdown, edged out a 12-11 win on penalties—despite surrendering a 2-0 lead late in the match.
Wild celebrations erupted, including a pitch invasion, but the joy was tempered when Grimsby admitted to a serious oversight: Clarke Oduor, a recent signing, had been included in the squad without meeting the registration deadline.
The club owned up to the mistake, blaming it on a clerical error. Although Oduor missed his penalty in the shootout, calls emerged for Grimsby to be expelled from the competition or for the match to be replayed.
Ultimately, the EFL chose not to pursue either option. Instead, Grimsby were fined £20,000, with half of that suspended until the end of the 2025/26 season.
Given the circumstances, they may consider themselves fortunate. Football history offers only a handful of examples where controversial matches were replayed:
Charlton Athletic vs Doncaster Rovers (2013)
A Championship clash at The Valley was abandoned at halftime due to a waterlogged pitch, even though Doncaster were leading 3-1.
Referee Lee Collins halted play after 26 minutes, resumed briefly, but later deemed the conditions unsafe. Doncaster manager Paul Dickov slammed the decision as “shambolic.”
The rematch, played months later, restarted at 0-0 and saw Charlton win 2-0—leaving Doncaster frustrated as they slipped down the table.
Arsenal vs Sheffield United (1999)
In the FA Cup fifth round, Arsenal and Sheffield United were tied 1-1 when a moment of confusion led to controversy.
After United’s goalkeeper kicked the ball out for an injured teammate, Arsenal were expected to return possession. Ray Parlour intended to do so, but debutant Nwankwo Kanu intercepted the pass and assisted Marc Overmars for the winning goal.
The incident sparked outrage, with United players nearly walking off in protest. Arsène Wenger offered a replay, which Arsenal won 2-1 thanks to goals from Overmars and Dennis Bergkamp.
Senegal vs South Africa (2017)
On November 10, 2017, Senegal secured their place at the 2018 FIFA World Cup, becoming the third African team to qualify after defeating South Africa 2-0—ending Bafana Bafana’s hopes of advancing.
However, this match was actually a rematch of a controversial encounter from November 2016, which South Africa had initially won 2-1.
That earlier result was nullified by FIFA following revelations that Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey had deliberately influenced the outcome.
Lamptey had wrongly awarded a penalty to South Africa for an alleged handball by Senegal defender Kalidou Koulibaly, even though video footage clearly showed the ball had struck Koulibaly’s knee.
South Africa capitalized on the dubious decision and went on to win, marking their only victory in the final round of qualifiers.
FIFA later ruled that Lamptey had violated regulations by “unlawfully influencing match results,” leading to his lifetime ban.
The governing body also concluded that Lamptey was at fault for South Africa’s second goal two minutes later, stating the Ghanaian “clearly took two wrong decisions, which led to two goals being scored by South Africa.”
They added: “He [took] intentional decisions with the sole purpose of facilitating a minimum number of goals to make certain bets successful.” The incident resulted in Lamptey receiving a lifetime ban from the sport.
