Liverpool fined for fielding ineligible player, but will remain in Carabao Cup

On Wednesday 25th September Liverpool beat Milton Keynes Dons 2-0 away from home in the Carabao Cup and in the 63rd minute Liverpool substituted Spaniard Pedro Chirivella onto the pitch and because of this they have been fined £200,000.

The fine has been administered by the English Football League (EFL) as Liverpool were yet to receive international clearance that Chirivella was eligible to play, he has been contracted to Liverpool since 2013 but as he spent last season on loan in Spain it meant that Liverpool were required to apply for international clearance which would have allowed them to field him in competition this season.

There had been claims that Liverpool could be expelled from this year’s Carabao Cup in regards to fielding the ineligible player but the EFL said in a statement that “Following a comprehensive review of all the evidence, the Board determined that it wasn’t appropriate to expel the Club from the Competition because of a number of mitigating factors.” These mitigating circumstances were that Liverpool had requested the relevant papers in July, but the process had not been completed as there was no action taken on the part of the Football Association.

The £200,000 fine, £100,000 of which will be suspended until the end of next season, is also comprised of a misconduct breach as Liverpool fielded the same individual in a Leasing.com Trophy loss against Oldham Athletic on 7th August.  A spokesperson for Liverpool has said “The club accepts the judgement, outcome and punishment imposed by the EFL. We believe it is proportionate with the technical indiscretion committed and will be making no further representations. Even though there were mitigating factors, which were beyond our control or jurisdiction, we believe it appropriate, we apologise to the competition’s governing body and also to Milton Keynes Dons.”

As a result, Liverpool will face Arsenal in the quarter-finals of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday 30th October. You can read the full EFL statement here.