Tony Pulis Ordered to Pay Crystal Palace £3.8m in Damages Over Sudden 2014 Departure

West Bromwich Albion manager Tony Pulis has been ordered to pay former club Crystal Palace the sum of £3,776,000 in damages as a result of the circumstance surrounding his sudden departure from Selhurst Park on the eve of the 2014/15 season.

Pulis was initially ordered to pay damages to his former employer after averdict on the initialwas reached in the long running legal battle earlier this calendar year.

The Welshman then brought an arbitration claim of his own that was heard privately last week, but the panel of arbitratorsonce more backed the club in theverdict released on Monday.

Key points in the case centred on the payment of a £2m bonus that Pulis was entitled to if he kept Palace in the Premier League and remained in their employment until 31st August 2014. The former Stoke boss fulfilled the first criteria, but subsequently asked for an early payment of his bonus around two weeks before it was due and then left his position.

Pulis was granted his request and received the £2m on 12th August. It was only the following day that he informed the club of his desire to leave, which he then did on 14th August.

Palace therefore claimed that Pulis had fraudulently claimed his bonus with the knowledge that he would leave with the money and take up a job at another club.

The Eagles also alleged that Pulis refused to take charge of the opening game of the season against Arsenal that was due to be played on 16th August and so had no choice but to appoint a new manager. Pulis denied the fraud and maintained he only wanted to leave if mutually acceptable.

Arbitrators found in favour of Crystal Palace in the two key areas of the dispute.

The panel rejected Pulis' claim that he only decided to leave the club as a result of a 'heated players' meeting' that took place on 8th August - Pulis had claimed it had taken place four days later, the same day he received payment of his £2m bonus.

The panel also ruled that his claim of needing proof of funds to secure a land purchase for his children was 'completely untrue', and that objective evidence showed no imminent transaction at all. In short, Pulis knowingly deceived Palace chairman Steve Parish to receive early payment.

On that particular point, the report read,"The Panel concludes that he (Pulis) deliberately gave Mr Parish the impression that he had a pressing need for the money in relation to a land purchase that he intended to proceed with.

"He also sought to play on Mr Parish's goodwill by referring to the land as being for his family (Mr Parish having recently attended the wedding of one of his daughters). There was in truth no pressing need for the money at all, since at no time was there a plot of land on the market which Mr Pulis was remotely close to purchasing."

The panel further ruled that Pulis was dishonest when he informed Parish on 8th August that he was 'happy and committed' to the club - four days before being paid the bonus and six days before leaving suddenly. "Mr Pulis deliberately misled Mr Parish concerning his intentions on 8 August."

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