Grealish was dropped for a breach of club discipline, and Everton beat Newcastle 3-1 without him
Everton would not say what Jack Grealish did, and neither would David Moyes. His team-mates then knocked out the 2025 winners to set up a Carabao Cup quarter-final at Fleetwood.
Oct 30, 2026
Everton named their squad for Thursday’s Carabao Cup tie with Newcastle without Jack Grealish, and the club gave one reason: “a breach of club discipline”. Nothing more came out of the club. Reports say the 31-year-old missed training on Monday without permission, came back to Finch Farm afterwards and is expected to be fined.
David Moyes was never going to fill in the gaps. “You probably know I’m not going to give any details,” he said after the game. He made clear that he backed the call but kept pointing back to the club. “It’s a club decision.”
Everton did not miss him
On the pitch, his absence barely registered. James Garner opened the scoring in the 34th minute, moments after captain James Tarkowski had thrown himself in front of a William Osula chance at the other end. Hayden Hackney made it 2-0 just before half-time, his first goal since joining from Middlesbrough in July.
Thierno Barry added the third in the 69th minute from Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall’s cross. Dan Burn headed in late on for Newcastle, and a scuffle followed: Tarkowski pushed Joelinton to the ground, and both men were booked along with Jordan Pickford.
That 3-1 win sends Everton to League Two Fleetwood Town in the quarter-finals. Fleetwood are the side who knocked out Arsenal on penalties on Tuesday. Everton have never won the League Cup and have not lifted a major trophy since the 1995 FA Cup, so a last-eight draw against a fourth-tier side is about as kind as it gets. Newcastle, the 2025 winners, are out.
A loan that was meant to be different
The awkward part is how quickly the mood has turned. Grealish’s first loan from Manchester City in 2025-26 went well, at least early on. He had four assists in August, won the Premier League’s player of the month award for it, and finished with two goals and six assists in 20 league games before a stress fracture in his foot needed surgery. That ended his season and his hopes of going to the World Cup.
Everton brought him back on a second season-long loan on 1 September. He had started their three league games before last Saturday’s trip to Arsenal, then missed the 2-0 defeat at the Emirates with illness. Now this.
I don’t think one missed session ends anything on its own. Clubs fine players for unauthorised absences all the time, and most of those stories are forgotten a week later. But Everton’s squad is thin, and Moyes needs his senior players more than usual. Going public with “breach of club discipline” rather than handling it quietly is a choice, and it is not the kind of message a club sends about someone it plans to build around.
The next answer comes quickly. Everton go to St James’ Park to face Newcastle again in the Premier League on Monday, 2 November (8pm UK time, 1:30am IST Tuesday). Asked whether Grealish would be involved, Moyes said he would not give team news away.