Everton’s cup win marred by player discipline breach

David Moyes has said it was the club’s decision to leave Jack Grealish out of Everton’s Carabao Cup win over Newcastle United because of a breach of club discipline.

Moyes said he supported the decision but would not go into detail, directing questions to the club, Neil Johnson reports for the BBC.

Everton did not disclose any further details, but the decision is understood to have arisen from an unauthorised absence from training on Monday.

Everton announced Grealish’s unavailability when they named their team, alongside defender Jarrad Branthwaite, who missed a second successive game under concussion protocols.

Everton beat Newcastle 3-1 at Hill Dickinson Stadium on Thursday night in the fourth round, with goals from James Garner, Hayden Hackney and Thierno Barry.

They will face League Two side Fleetwood Town in the quarter-finals. Moyes praised the squad’s values on and off the pitch and said the players did a brilliant job in Grealish’s absence.

Grealish, 31, returned to Everton on a second season-long loan from Manchester City on 1 September. He also missed Everton’s 2-0 league defeat by Arsenal last weekend, with the club attributing that absence to illness.

Sources: BBC, 29 October 2026; TNT Sports; ESPN.