West Brom boss Tony Pulis loses £3.7m court battle with Crystal Palace after 'disgraceful deceit'

Albion boss Pulis told Palace he desperately needed the cash to buy land for his children.

But the day after the money was paid he suddenly announced he wanted to quit – leaving the club 'in the lurch' ahead of a new season.

And a High Court judgment has now revealed there was no imminent land deal in place.

Lasting damage could taint West Brom good-guy Tony Pulis

Judge Sir Michael Burton branded the actions of Pulis a 'deceit'.

He threw out an appeal by the Albion boss against an order forcing him to pay £3,776,000 to Palace by a Premier League arbitration panel.

"By any standards his conduct has been shown to be disgraceful," the panel declared.

The court papers show that Pulis had asked Palace owner Steve Parish for a £2m 'survival bonus' for keeping the Eagles in the Premier League during the 2013/14 season to be paid in advance.

The sum was dependent on Pulis staying with the Croydon-based club until August 31, 2014.

But after being paid the £2m on August 12 2014, he announced the very next day that he wanted to leave the club. He did so on August 14, just two days before the season opener against Arsenal.

"Mr Pulis secured early payment of his bonus from the club by deceit," the papers read.

"The day after he had secured payment of £2m he dropped the bombshell on the club that he intended to leave, leaving it, as must have been his intention, in the lurch on the eve of the new season and an important game."

The papers say Pulis 'deliberately misled' Mr Parish and 'played on his 'goodwill' by saying the need for the money was 'pressing' and he wanted it to buy some land for family members.

But there was no such need or land deal, the papers say. The judgment also reveals that Pulis claimed a row with players, described as a 'heated players meeting', was behind his decision to leave.

Pulis had claimed the meeting happened on August 12 – the day the bonus was paid early – and that it had made him change his mind about committing his future to the club.

In fact it was found that the meeting had taken place on August 8.

He put forward three fringe players to support his case about the date – ex-Villa star Barry Bannan, Stuart O'Keefe and Lewis Price.

But Mr Parish was able to provide 'forensic evidence' including a receipt from a hairdressing appointment to show he was not at the training ground on August 12 and therefore could not have been at the disputed meeting.

Sir Michael's judgment states: "The club submits that early payment of the bonus and his decision to leave the club are inextricably linked. In the absence of any other explanation from Mr Pulis, this is plainly the most logical inference.

"Indeed, it is the only inference. The Panel has rejected as untrue Mr Pulis' case and evidence that he only decided to leave the club as a result of the heated players' meeting.

"It is not satisfied that he was candid with the tribunal as to his real reason for seeking to leave.

"It is much more likely that he intended to seek more lucrative employment with another club and that is the real reason he sought early payment of his bonus, rather than an urgent need for the money for a non-existent land transaction."

It added: "It is clear beyond doubt that the statement that Mr Pulis needed to show £2 million in his account preferably by August 13 to proceed on the purchase of property was completely untrue.

"There was at that date no imminent property transaction for which Mr Pulis had an urgent need of £2m (net of tax)."

It continues: "The Panel is also unimpressed with Mr Pulis' evidence concerning the land transaction. The objective evidence shows that there never was any imminent transaction at any time that Mr Pulis was seeking early payment or was making representations to the club concerning his need for early payment.

"From what he told Mr Parish on August 8 and what his agents repeated to Mr Parish thereafter, the Panel concludes that he 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 is satisfied that Mr Pulis intended to give Mr Parish the false impression that he had a pressing need for the money for use in connection with an imminent land transaction and that he knew or was reckless to the fact that the impression he was giving to the club was a false one.

"His motive in doing so was to secure early payment of £2m... it is simply not credible that he could honestly say that he was happy and committed to the club on August 8 and have changed his mind so completely by August 13, when nothing had happened other than him having received £2m."

It adds: "The Panel therefore concludes that Mr Pulis deliberately misled Mr Parish concerning his intentions on August 8 with the intention of persuading him to authorise early payment of his bonus."

Pulis argued he should not repay the full £2m bonus, stating he had only received £959,000 with the club paying the rest in tax and national insurance.

But the judge ordered him to pay the full amount so the club could recover its losses.

Last night West Bromwich Albion declined to comment. Pulis, who took over The Hawthorns hotseat on January 2, 2015, was unavailable for comment.