Pulis says he feels 'cheated' after Manchester City found guilty of breaching financial rules

Tony Pulis says he feels “cheated” out of the 2011 FA Cup after Manchester City were reportedly found guilty on virtually all counts of breaching Premier League financial rules — a period that covers the Wembley final in which a Yaya Touré goal gave City a 1-0 victory over Stoke City.

The charges, which the Premier League laid early in 2023, cover more than 100 alleged breaches spanning 2009 to 2018. Manchester City deny any wrongdoing and are expected to appeal the verdict.

“When do we get our FA Cup?” Pulis wrote in a BBC Sport column. “That is what all Stoke fans have been asking me since the news broke on Friday. I thought exactly the same.”

Pulis was careful to temper expectations about any retroactive redistribution of silverware, saying he does not seriously expect City to return the trophy or the winners’ medals. A points deduction and a substantial fine, he suggested, are far more likely outcomes.

“But I still feel cheated,” he added. “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 acknowledged that the reported verdict had fundamentally shifted his reading of the final itself. At the time, he had accepted defeat as the natural consequence of facing a squad of superstars managed by Roberto Mancini. Now, he views it through a different lens.

“We lost, but to a team that have been found guilty of breaking the financial rules set out by the Premier League,” he said. “In doing so, they did not just beat Stoke in an FA Cup final, they collected a stack of titles.”

The 2011 FA Cup was the first major trophy of Manchester City’s modern era, arriving a year before their dramatic first Premier League title in 2012. The charges under scrutiny cover the entirety of that transformative period at the club.

The Premier League has not yet commented publicly on reports that a verdict has been reached, and no sanctions have been formally outlined. On Saturday, City president Khaldoon al-Mubarak insisted “nothing had changed” with the club’s position, nearly two years after a 12-week independent hearing concluded.