Manchester City launched a"full review" into the conduct of Carlos Tevez by dramatically suspending the Argentina striker for the maximum possible period last night.
Comment: Jettison the diva of derision Carlos Tevez
For too long things have gone the Argentine's way through a storm of controversies, now Manchester City must put their foot down.
Tevez's behaviour leaves City relationship at breaking point. Read article
Carlos Tevez denies he refused to play in City defeat to Bayern Munich. Read article
Tevez refusal to play makes a sorry night one to forget for City. Read article
Tevez, 27, will not be considered for selection against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday and will not even be allowed to train with the squad for the next 14 days as the club "conduct a full review into his alleged conduct" against Bayern Munich on Tuesday night where, according to Roberto Mancini, the manager, Tevez refused to play.
Tevez, who was named on the bench for the 2-0 defeat, claimed he did not refuse to play and also said he was ready to "fulfil his obligations to the club".
The decision to suspend their highest-paid player falls into line with the due diligence process and board-led review into the investigation into the incident that led to the resignation of Garry Cook, the chief executive, earlier this month. The two-week period will enable the club to forensically examine whether Tevez breached the terms of his complex contract or violated the club's code of conduct for players.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, the City chairman, was not at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday night as he was in Paris with Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed, the Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces.
Al Mubarak has been fully briefed by City's representatives who were at the game in Munich and, according to Mancini, will make the final decision on the future of Tevez.
"He decides everything," Mancini said. "It is normal. He is the chairman."
Al Mubarak will seek clarification from Tevez on what the striker described as a "misunderstanding".
"I would like to apologise to all Manchester City fans, with whom I have always had a strong relationship, for any misunderstanding that occurred in Munich," Tevez told Sky Sports yesterday. "They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club.
"In Munich on Tuesday I had warmed up and was ready 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.
"There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood.
"Going forward, I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations."
Harry Redknapp, the Tottenham Hotspur manager, has already taken one disaffected player on loan from Manchester City in Emmanuel Adebayor, and feels Tevez "holds all the aces" in where his future lies.
"I don't know what you can do with him now," Redknapp said at his weekly news conference. "At the end of the day he holds all the aces. He gets his wages every week and if you want to give him away someone will give him a fortune because he is cheap.
"He is a great player, no doubt, a fantastic footballer but it's a problem that Man City can deal with now. Only they can decide whether he plays for them again."
Redknapp was full of praise for Mancini who said after the game he "cannot accept this behaviour" and that Tevez's career at the Etihad Stadium is "finished".
"I thought the manager was fantastic after the game, the way he spoke," Redknapp said. "He didn't deserve that. He is a good manager. He is a good guy."
Gordon Taylor, the chairman of the Professional Footballers' Association, feels the incident tarnished the image of the club owned by Sheikh Mansour bin Zayed.
"The owners of Manchester City clearly want a club with a good reputation," Taylor said. "That was not the case last [Tuesday] night."
City fans inside the stadium were left baffled by the events. Dave Wallace, the editor of the King of the Kippax fanzine, said: "We were in the ground and wondering why [Mancini] wasn't bringing Tevez on. Then the word went round that he's refused to come on and everyone was pretty shocked and surprised, pretty disgusted really.
"At 2-0, we could have still saved the game, and most fans who I spoke to the reaction was 'It's a disgrace and he should never play for the club again'.
"City fans had paid a lot to go over there and got up at 3am, and it's just not on. There's not a lot of sympathy among City fans for him."
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