Carlos Tevez has been suspended by Manchester City for two weeks after Roberto Mancini made it clear to the chairman, Khaldoon al-Mubarak, the player has no way back following his apparent refusal to take part in their Champions League tie at Bayern Munich.
A furious Mancini told Tevez to "go back to Argentina" during their
dressing-room confrontation in Munich and followed that by making an
official complaint to the club's human resources department on his return to Manchester on Wednesday.
"Manchester City can confirm that striker Carlos Tevez has been suspended until further notice for a maximum period of two weeks," the club said. "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."
The club's lawyers are now scrutinising Tevez's contract to determine what action they can take and, specifically, whether he was guilty of gross
misconduct by refusing to come on as a second-half substitute in the Allianz Arena. Tevez, in a remarkable change of direction, now denies this, blaming it on a "misunderstanding" presented by language issues.
The process will take up to a week, with City acutely aware of the
importance of going through the appropriate channels to cover the club
should the dispute develop into a legal battle. They are so determined to
present a watertight case they intend to interview everyone who was in
City's dugout when the controversy flared up.
Tevez may be required to attend a formal disciplinary hearing and will
almost certainly be fined two weeks' wages, the maximum amount permitted by Professional Footballers' Association guidelines. As the highest earner both at the club and in the Premier League, that amounts to £500,000, the biggest fine ever meted out to a player in English football.
He was informed of the suspension in a letter stating the disciplinary
process would take "up to seven days" and that he would have the "full
opportunity to explain his side".
Tevez had issued a statement through his advisers earlier in the day
apologising to the club's supporters but denying he had refused to play,
blaming "confusion on the bench". However, that line of argument is badly
undermined by his interview directly after the match, when he admitted going against his manager. His new version of events has been ridiculed behind the scenes at the Etihad Arena, where there is the sense of compelling evidence in Mancini's favour.
City have already compiled a dossier of Tevez's previous misdemeanours and are keeping all possibilities open as they contemplate what to do with a player who would ordinarily be valued as one of the club's main assets. The top-end option is to terminate his contract and launch legal action. High-level sources at the Premier League believe Tevez is "sackable" and Jim Boyce, the vice-president of Fifa, has said his organisation would then investigate imposing a worldwide ban on the Argentinian.
"If he has done what has been said, and it appears there is no doubt about it, I think his club would be better off with him not being part of it," Boyce said.
"If Manchester City prove it, write to Fifa and state the exact circumstances, I believe Fifa should have the power, as they do for drugs-related cases and other cases, to ban the player from taking an active part in football. I would have no problem with that whatsoever. It hasn't occurred before, but I think what happened [with Tevez] was despicable."
Mancini spent a long part of the day discussing the matter with al-Mubarak and asked for a suspension to be invoked that would mean Tevez was not allowed at the stadium or the training ground. The players were on a day off but report for duty on Thursday. Mancini has told al-Mubarak he will not accept Tevez being involved in first-team sessions.
The most likely outcome is that Tevez will be sold for a cut-price fee in the January transfer window. Until then, however, Mancini will push for him to continue to be left in isolation.
