Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola has called for a revision to current Carabao Cup regulations to allow new signing Marc Guehi to feature in the upcoming final against Arsenal.
Following City’s 2-0 semifinal victory over Newcastle, Guardiola highlighted the issue of Guehi being cup-tied after joining from Crystal Palace in January.
The English international of Ivorian descent is ineligible to play for Manchester City in the Carabao Cup due to EFL registration rules that require a player to be signed and registered before the first leg of a semi-final tie.
The City boss expressed frustration at the rule, arguing that the club’s significant investment in the defender should not prevent him from participating in a major final.
“Hopefully we can arrive with players fit and convince the Carabao Cup that Marc can play in the final,” Guardiola said.
“It’s difficult to understand. The club made a big investment to take one player. He belongs to us, and I don’t understand why he cannot play.”
Guardiola went on to suggest that the club would submit a formal request for Guehi’s eligibility, emphasising the wider implications for teams making mid-season signings.
“Hopefully they can change it,” he added. “When you buy a player for a lot of money and he is not able to play because of a rule, I don’t understand why.”
City’s plea puts the spotlight on an existing restriction designed to prevent players from representing multiple clubs in the same competition during a single season.
For Guardiola, however, the rule seems counterintuitive when a player has just joined and is fully integrated into a team preparing for a major final.
The Carabao Cup final against Arsenal, scheduled for March, could potentially see Guardiola pushing for Guehi’s inclusion, highlighting the ongoing tension between rigid competition rules and clubs’ ambitions to field their strongest squads in decisive matches.
