Gus Poyet has delivered his verdict on Sunderland’s 2014 League Cup final amid the latest Manchester City charges developments
Gus Poyet has joked that Sunderland should stage a celebration in the Stadium of Light if the Black Cats are retrospectively awarded the 2014 League Cup amid developments in Manchester City’s financial case.
Poyet was Sunderland manager when his side travelled to Wembley in March 2014 after Fabio Borini gave Sunderland an early lead. City turned the game around after the break, with goals from Yaya Touré and Samir Nasri before Jesús Navas completed a 3-1 victory.
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However, reports emerged on Friday claiming that an independent panel had found City guilty on 114 of the 115 charges in the Premier League’s financial case. City continue to deny wrongdoing; the process is moving towards an appeal and no punishment has yet been confirmed.
Speaking exclusively to The Echo, Poyet joked that Sunderland should celebrate in style if the trophy ever ended up on Wearside. “Probably one of the punishments would be losing all the trophies, and we would take ours. We would make a big party,” he laughed when speaking exclusively to The Echo.
The former Sunderland boss went further when asked what it would mean to receive a winner’s medal more than 12 years later. “I would convince the owners that we need to have a massive party,” Poyet said. “Open-top bus tour. And everybody who can prove they went to Wembley gets first option to go into the stadium.
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“Probably people kept their ticket, even if we lost. So the ones who can produce something that proves they were at Wembley, they are allowed in first. And then the rest, if there is space. We can celebrate, call all the players and get everybody together.”
There remains considerable uncertainty before Sunderland can contemplate such a scenario. The reported findings have not produced a final punishment and City retain the right to appeal. Crucially, the League Cup is an EFL competition, and the Premier League and EFL are separate entities. It remains unclear whether a Premier League punishment could affect EFL trophies. Even heavy sanctions would not guarantee Sunderland the 2014 trophy.
Poyet was reluctant to reach a firm conclusion before seeing both the final outcome and punishment. “I think the situation at the moment is a little bit inconclusive in terms of the final punishment because what I want to know is the consequences,” he said.
“I don’t think too many people know what is going to happen if, after the appeal, they’re still guilty. That’s the problem. I wouldn’t give a verdict without having the punishment. Maybe I don’t understand the rules; I’m not a lawyer, obviously.”
Poyet insisted he never left Wembley feeling Sunderland had been cheated. Instead, he remembered the difference in quality between the squads. “No,” Poyet said when asked whether the latest developments had changed how he viewed the game.
“I think when you finish the game, especially in the kind of way that we conceded the first two goals, the feeling is how much difference there is between the two squads. That’s what you feel. At that moment in time, you don’t feel about if there’s something wrong or not.
“But you can see that it’s a massive difference between the goal that Touré scored, Nasri scored, and the one that we had to score in an incredible, unique action. A break, counter-attack and perfect definition. So, yes, it was a big difference between the two squads. But now, with this outcome, maybe you will think differently. If you knew something. I don’t know.”
Poyet’s biggest concern is what happens if the findings survive appeal without meaningful punishment. “To be honest, the worst that can happen for me, the worst, is that they maintain this guilty case in the appeal and there is no punishment,” he said. “So then what do you do? I hope they have the answers themselves because I don’t like when they keep changing rules.”
Poyet also referenced City’s previous UEFA battle, when a two-year European ban was overturned by the Court of Arbitration for Sport. “What I don’t understand as well is how the case in Europe didn’t progress, and it was found not guilty, and then England takes so long,” Poyet said.
“It was so long, and it’s 99.9 per cent guilty, you know, because it’s 114 from 115. So to give 114 guilty, you need that amount of time? I’m talking about 114. I’m not talking about two. So it looks like they are practically convinced that there has been a big issue there. There are so many questions that haven’t been answered.
Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote to supporters after Friday’s media reports, insisting the club’s position had not changed and that it remained confident of proving its innocence. He said the Premier League process still had “a long way to run” and that strict confidentiality prevented him from sharing more detail, adding that even his letter had been legally checked.
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Manchester City chairman Khaldoon Al Mubarak wrote to supporters after Friday’s media reports, stressing that the club remained confident in its position and in its ability to prove its innocence. He said the Premier League process still had “a long way to run” and that strict confidentiality prevented him from sharing more detail, adding that even his letter had been legally checked.
Al Mubarak pointed supporters back towards City’s statements from Friday and February 2023, insisting that every word still held true. In those statements, the club said its position had remained consistent throughout the process and referred to what it described as a “comprehensive body of irrefutable evidence” in support of its case.