Fleetwood Town secured a historic milestone on Tuesday night, defeating Arsenal 5-3 on penalties at Highbury to reach the quarter-finals of the EFL Cup for the first time in the club's history. However, before the decisive shootout could take place following a 1-1 draw across 90 minutes of regulation, the hosts were required to select one of their own players to sit out and surrender their spot.
The unusual scenario arose because competition regulations require both sides to enter penalty shootouts with an identical number of participants. Arsenal had concluded the fixture shorthanded after teenager Max Dowman was shown a red card during the second half, leaving the Gunners with only 10 men on the pitch at the final whistle.
To restore balance, officials enforced Law 10.3 of the International Football Association Board's laws of the game. The rule states that "if at the end of the match and before or during the kicks one team has a greater number of players than its opponents, it must reduce its numbers to the same number as its opponents and the referee must be informed of the name and number of each player excluded. Any excluded player is not eligible to take part in the kicks." Under this regulation, excluded players—including goalkeepers defending spot-kicks—are prohibited from participating.
In accordance with the law, Fleetwood officially designated defender Jake Batty as the player to be omitted from the kicks. Clarifying the process during the broadcast, Sky Sports commentator Peter Drury explained: "Fleetwood have to nominate a player to not take a penalty and that is Jake Batty because of Dowman's sending off, so it becomes 10 against 10." Despite leaving Batty on the sidelines, the Fishermen successfully converted their opportunities from the spot to defeat Arsenal and advance to the EFL Cup quarter-finals.