City take decisive action and suspend Tevez until further notice
MANCHESTER CITY have suspended striker Carlos Tevez until further notice after the Argentina international refused to take to the field as a second-half substitute in Tuesday’s Champions League defeat against Bayern Munich.
The decision was taken following a telephone conference involving senior staff, including the club’s chairman Khaldoon al-Mubarak.
A statement read: “Manchester City can confirm that striker Carlos Tevez has been suspended until further notice for a maximum period of two weeks.
“The player’s suspension is pending a full review into his alleged conduct during Tuesday evening’s 2-0 defeat to Bayern Munich.
“The player will not be considered for selection or take part in training whilst the review is under way.”
Tevez released a statement of his own yesterday morning in the belief that his part in the controversy had not been accurately portrayed. It is understood that Tevez believes his row with Roberto Mancini was about warming up and not a refusal to play.
“This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play,” said Tevez.
“Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations.”
Last night Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce waded into the controversy, claiming the world governing body would look to prevent Tevez from joining a new club immediately, should City ultimately decide to sack the former Manchester United striker.
He said: “Of course we would consider a ban. If Manchester City prove and write to Fifa and state exactly the circumstances, I believe that Fifa should have the power to ban that player from taking an active part in football for a certain amount of time.
“I’d have no problem with that. What happened was despicable. If Manchester City were to release him this week, I wouldn’t think it’s right he can go elsewhere next week and earn a large amount of money.”