Tony Adams caught up in controversy over caged bear in Azerbaijan

Adams, who is managing Gabala FC in Azerbaijan, was reportedly reprimanded by colleagues at the club after his reserve team coach, Daryl Willard, had highlighted the treatment of a bear in one of the cafés in the city.

The story was published in The Sun on Tuesday, with Willard quoted describing how the bear had been allowed to starve to death.

"People cheered and shouted as they watched the starving bear drink from the cola bottle and eat sandwich leftovers they threw," he said. "A few days after it died, there was a new one. They told me they catch a new one up in the mountains."

The Azerbaijan Embassy has described the incident as an "isolated" case but there was condemnation from the International Fund for Animal Welfare, which described a video of the cruelty as a "disgrace". Footage of the suffering bear has been posted on the web.

The story appears to have caused a major backlash in Gabala, with locals feeling it has brought shame on their city. "It's caused a lot of problems here," said Willard, who complained that he had been misquoted.

"Luckily Tony understands that's what the tabloids are like, but that's not the case for everyone here."

Tale Heydarov, an Azeri businessman who owns Gabala FC, appointed Adams in April on a salary of almost £1 million a year. The former Portsmouth manager was tasked with guiding the club to the Champions League in three years.

Adams has said he had been attracted to the challenge of building a club from top to bottom.