PFA leap to defence of City outcast Tevez
MANCHESTER CITY striker Carlos Tevez has found ally in the shape of the Professional Footballers’ Association, who claim the four-week fine he received this week for refusing to play is “not justified”.
The Premier League leaders found the Argentina international to be guilty of five separate breaches of contract in the Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich last month.
But the PFA, which must ratify the fine, supports Tevez’s claim that he did not refuse to play and says that a two-week fine is all that is allowed.
“The PFA’s opinion, based on all the evidence presented, is that Carlos Tevez never refused to play for the club,” said the PFA. “This is accepted by the club in that the charge against Carlos made at the hearing was not one of refusing to play.
“As such the PFA considers that there is no justification for a fine other than up to the prescribed sanction of two weeks’ wages agreed by the FA, the Premier League and PFA.”
Following the incident at the Allianz Arena, City launched an internal investigation which concluded that among the contractual duties breached by Tevez (inset) was one which decrees he has “an obligation to participate in any matches in which the player is selected to play for the club when directed by a club official”.
Tevez insists he only refused to warm up, while his advisors believe that none of the five reasons given by City for upholding the charge of misconduct – which the club published on their website – are valid.
His advisors have further been notified that City manager Roberto Mancini’s post-match comments in Munich, where he said Tevez refused to play and was finished at the club, could amount to defamation of character and that legal action against the Italian is a possibility.