Tony Pulis has said he and Stoke City were “cheated” out of the 2011 FA Cup, arguing that Manchester City’s breaching of Premier League financial rules tainted the final his side lost. Stoke were beaten 1-0 at Wembley by a Yaya Touré goal, and Pulis’s sense of grievance has resurfaced after City were found guilty on virtually all counts of breaking the Premier League’s financial rules.
City were found guilty on all but one of more than 100 charges laid by the Premier League in February 2023. The club deny any wrongdoing and are expected to appeal, meaning the matter is far from resolved.
Writing in his BBC Sport column, the 68-year-old Pulis asked: “When do we get our FA Cup? That is what all Stoke fans have been asking me since the news broke on Friday. I thought exactly the same. I don’t expect Manchester City to offer back the 2011 FA Cup and the winners’ medals their players received. I don’t seriously believe any other trophies and titles will be handed back over either. A points deduction and a massive fine feels far more likely.”
He added that the hurt remained regardless of what sanction follows. “But I still feel cheated. We won’t ever get that day back and the chance to celebrate around Stoke-on-Trent with the cup and medals we so honestly fought for. After breaking the rules, Manchester City got to do that instead. While the process is far from over because City are expected to appeal, I have to say this verdict and the whole situation has left a very sour taste in my mouth.”
Pulis pointed to City’s outlay on Touré, who was signed from Barcelona for £24m and earned around £180,000-a-week. “Yaya Touré, who scored the winning goal, was reportedly earning 10 times what we were paying any of our players and, on his own, had cost more than our entire starting 11 when they had signed him from Barcelona in 2010,” he said.
The former manager also described how the verdict had changed the way he looked back on the defeat. “My disappointment was buried in the fact we had played a team full of superstars, and faced an elite coach in Roberto Mancini, and had just fallen short. Today, I feel very differently, as I am sure people connected with the other clubs affected by City’s successes in the same period, between 2009 and 2018 [will feel]. We lost, but to a team that have been found guilty of breaking the financial rules set out by the Premier League. In doing so, they did not just beat Stoke in an FA Cup final, they collected a stack of titles and went on to completely dominate English football for more than a decade. So, with those rules having been broken, what will the punishment be?”
Pulis believes the reaction will extend well beyond Stoke. “I know all Stoke supporters will be demanding that City pass the trophy over and every club that has been affected by their actions will be considering their legal options,” he said.
City have continued to defend their position. On Saturday, the club’s chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, reiterated that stance, saying: “There is so much noise swirling around us, nothing has changed. We have faced challenges together before and have prevailed. There remain many who want to undermine the momentum of our club. We will not give them that opportunity.”
A City spokesperson had said on Friday: “The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality. As such Manchester City FC’s position remains consistent with the club’s statement of February 2023. The club has diligently respected due process for eight years on the basis that the Premier League board and executive would behave as an independent, impartial and fair-minded regulator, free from partisan influence.”