EFL star booked for breaking little-known new football rule that has left fans baffled

An EFL star received a bizarre yellow card this week after he broke a rule fans had absolutely no idea existed.

Wycombe Wanderers beat Bradford City 1-0 on Wednesday evening in the semi-final of the Bristol Street Motors Trophy.

Matt Butcher's injury-time winner secured the League One side's place in the final at Wembley, where they will meet Peterborough on April 7.

Though Wycombe fans were more concerned with their side booking a fourth trip to Wembley in the last decade, they were still left baffled by an incident that happened minutes before Butcher's winning goal.

Wycombe' Luke Leahy was booked in the 85th minute when he took a throw-in.

As the midfielder prepared to take the throw in he wiped the ball using a steward's coat, and was promptly shown a yellow card for his actions.

Rules state that any material or drying garment used to wipe the ball prior to a throw-in is not allowed to be used, as it is seen as giving a team an unfair advantage.

The EFL introduced the rule ahead of this season, and introduced a multi-ball system to all its competitions in order to speed up games and reduce the impact of time-wasting.

🟡 We can confirm @lukeleahy was shown a yellow card tonight for drying the ball on a steward's jacket prior to taking a throw-in. pic.twitter.com/BTbKWCZ0M5

— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) February 22, 2024

Wycombe fans were left absolutely baffled about the decision to caution Leahy, even if it was technically the correct one.

"Well, that is a first; I did not know you were given a card for that," one fan said, while another admitted: "Luke Leahy receives a yellow card for cleaning the ball using a stewards coat.. It’s safe to say that is a first for me."

Other fans think the rule is ridiculous.

"Can't believe Leahy was shown a yellow for that," one said, while another simply said: "Game has well and truly gone."

Another was just happy that the incident won't come back to bite Leahy and Wycombe: "I'm just glad he won't miss the final because that's a joke of a card."