Former Queens Park Rangers striker Djibril Cisse has dismissed Wayne Rooney's suggestions that Manchester City's dramatic 2012 Premier League title triumph was aided by suspicious actions from the west London club.
City edged out rivals Manchester United for the crown on the final day of the season, thanks to Sergio Aguero's stoppage-time winner against QPR. However, the manner of the victory has been questioned by Rooney, who pointed to QPR's decision to give the ball back to City shortly after Edin Dzeko's equaliser, as well as Cisse's post-match celebrations with Samir Nasri.
Rooney's claims and Cisse's response
Speaking in 2022, Rooney said: "Paddy Kenny should have done better for a couple of the goals. City get the second goal and QPR kick it straight back to them and that's never been questioned – I find that strange.
“Djibril Cisse celebrating after the game with the City players, but yeah listen it's a historic moment in the Premier League so I'm sure that, if you are not involved as a Manchester United player, that's probably one of the greatest moments in the league."
Former Premier League referee Mike Dean, who officiated that match, has also questioned the events at the Etihad. A video of his comments has resurfaced, prompting Cisse to respond on X.
Cisse's rebuttal
The former French international wrote: "I’m not gonna let you people talk s*** like that. Let’s have a proper meeting and talk about it. Cause there is no way I gonna accept your bulls*** anymore. So let’s do it."
He added: "Is it our fault if they have lost 5 games in the league and waited the last game to win the league???"
Cisse has previously addressed his celebrations, clarifying that he was congratulating his friend Nasri and celebrating QPR's survival. He said: "I was celebrating with Samir Nasri, my friend of 15 years. I didn't care about Man City - I was just happy for him and relieved that we stayed up.
"If we'd wanted them to win, we would've let them score 4-0 or 5-0, but we didn't. We fought hard, and we had a strong team out there. It wasn't our fault United lost the title. They dropped points all season."
City's victory that day secured their first Premier League title, and they have since won seven more.
