Tony Pulis believes his Stoke City side was unfairly denied the 2011 FA Cup after Manchester City were reportedly found responsible for nearly every alleged breach of Premier League financial regulations.
Stoke suffered a 1-0 defeat in the 2011 final, with Yaya Touré scoring the decisive goal. Following Friday’s announcement concerning more than 100 charges brought by the Premier League in February 2023, Pulis expressed deep frustration. Manchester City deny wrongdoing and are expected to challenge the decision.
“When will we receive our FA Cup?” the 68-year-old wrote in a sports column. “That is the question Stoke supporters have asked me since the announcement on Friday, and I had exactly the same reaction. I do not expect Manchester City to return the 2011 trophy or the winners’ medals awarded to their players. Nor do I realistically think their other titles will be taken away. A substantial fine and a points penalty appear much more likely.
“Even so, I feel we were treated unfairly. We can never recover that occasion or the opportunity to celebrate in Stoke-on-Trent with the trophy and medals for which we competed honestly. Manchester City enjoyed that moment instead despite failing to follow the rules. The matter is not yet settled because an appeal is expected, but the decision and everything surrounding it have left me deeply disappointed.”
Pulis also highlighted the amount Manchester City spent on Touré, who joined from Barcelona for £24m and was reportedly paid about £180,000 per week. He said: “Yaya Touré, the player who scored the winner, was said to earn roughly 10 times more than any member of our squad. His transfer fee alone exceeded the combined cost of our entire starting lineup when City recruited him from Barcelona in 2010.”
Pulis explained that the ruling had transformed the way he viewed the defeat. “At the time, I accepted the disappointment because we had faced a squad packed with outstanding players and an accomplished manager in Roberto Mancini, and we had narrowly missed out. I see it very differently now, and I imagine those associated with other clubs affected by City’s achievements from 2009 to 2018 feel the same way.
“We were beaten by a team that has reportedly been found to have violated the Premier League’s financial regulations. Their success was not limited to defeating Stoke in an FA Cup final; they accumulated numerous trophies and became the dominant force in English football for more than a decade. If the rules were breached, the key question is what penalty will follow?”
Pulis suggested the consequences could extend beyond Stoke. “I know our supporters will call for City to surrender the trophy, while every club affected by their conduct is likely to assess the legal action available to them,” he said.
On Saturday, Khaldoon al-Mubarak restated the club’s position. “A great deal of speculation surrounds us, but our stance has not changed. We have confronted difficulties together in the past and overcome them. Many people still want to disrupt the club’s progress, and we will not allow them to do so,” the City chair said.
A club spokesperson said on Friday: “The Premier League proceedings are continuing, with important stages still outstanding and strict confidentiality requirements in place. Manchester City FC therefore maintains the position set out in its February 2023 statement. For eight years, the club has carefully observed due process in the expectation that the Premier League board and its executives would operate as independent, neutral and fair regulators without partisan interference.”
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