Tony Pulis claims Manchester City have robbed him of a fair FA Cup memory

At a modest press conference in Stoke-on-Trent, Tony Pulis, the former Stoke City manager, declared he feels "cheated" by Man City after the Premier League announced the club had breached its financial rules on Friday.

Premier League finds 114 breaches

Manchester City have been found guilty of 114 breaches of Premier League financial rules, a verdict that follows a three‑year saga of investigations. The club were originally hit with 115 charges in 2023 for infractions of EFL financial rules covering a nine‑year span from 2009 to 2018. On Friday the Premier League confirmed the club was guilty of all but one of those charges.

Potential punishments loom

Officials have yet to decide the exact sanction, but speculation ranges from hefty fines to points deductions, transfer embargoes, and even the stripping of titles earned during the period in question. A full expulsion from the league remains a theoretical extreme.

While clubs, managers and players await the final decision, Pulis insists no penalty will erase the sense of injustice he feels. He recalled the 2011 FA Cup final, where City beat Stoke 1‑0 at Wembley with Yaya Toure scoring the winner in the 74th minute.

Premier League clubs push for multi‑year sanctions on Man City

Pulis’ personal grievance

In a column for the BBC, the 68‑year‑old wrote, "I don’t expect Manchester City to phone me or the club up and 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." He added that a points deduction and a massive fine seem more likely than any reversal of past honours.

Pulis also highlighted that Toure’s transfer fee of roughly £24 million, paid in July 2010, was ten times the compensation Stoke players received at the time, a sum he claimed exceeded the total value of the Potters’ starting XI.

City’s appeal expected

Manchester City are expected to appeal the verdict, maintaining their innocence since the 2023 charges were first laid. The Premier League has indicated that any definitive action will only be taken once the appeal process concludes, meaning the final punishment could still be weeks away.

For fans and clubs who feel aggrieved, the wait for closure continues, with the outcome set to shape the narrative of English football’s recent financial controversies.