The Guardian Football
Tony Pulis has said his Stoke City team were “cheated” out of the 2011 FA Cup after Manchester City were found guilty on virtually all counts of breaching Premier League financial rules. Pulis’s Stoke lost the 2011 Cup final 1-0 after Yaya Touré’s goal. Yet following Friday’s news that City are guilty on all but one of the more than 100 charges laid by the Premier League in February 2023, Pulis feels serious discontent. City are expected to appeal and they deny any wrongdoing.
Pulis pointed to City’s outlay on Touré, who was signed from Barcelona for £24m and earned about £180,000-a-week. He said: “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.”
Pulis believes action may be widespread. “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. The Premier League process remains ongoing, with significant elements to be completed, and subject to strict confidentiality.