Manchester City star Carlos Tevez yesterday denied refusing to come off the substitutes bench during his team’s Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich.
City manager Roberto Mancini angrily said Tevez was “finished” at the club after accusing the Argentine of refusing to appear in the second half of Tuesday’s game with the English Premier League team trailing 2-0.
However, Tevez denied Mancini’s comments in a statement.
Photo: AFP
“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,” Tevez said.
The 27-year-old striker blamed his failure to appear on “confusion” on the City bench and apologized to the club’s fans for “any 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 said. “They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club.”
“There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood,” the statement said. “Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations.”
Mancini had indicated Tevez would never play for the club again in the aftermath of Tuesday’s defeat.
“Can you imagine a Bayern Munich, Milan or Man United player doing this?” he added. “He refused to warm up and again refused to go on the pitch ... If a player has a lot of money to play for Manchester City ... he can’t [refuse to play], never.”
Former players and media commentators were united in support behind Mancini’s hard-line stance, with former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness describing Tevez as a “disgrace to football.”
“He [Tevez] is one bad apple,” Souness told Sky Sports. “He’s a disgrace to football. He epitomizes what most people think is wrong with modern football.”
“He is refusing to help his teammates. It’s all about him, him, him,” he added.
Former City manager Mark Hughes, who signed Tevez before being replaced by Mancini in 2009, said the player’s personal situation was behind his apparent unhappiness in Manchester. Tevez has repeatedly signaled his desire to leave the club, citing a desire to be closer to his family in South America.
Yet, sympathy was in short supply in British newspapers, where several commentators applauded Mancini for signaling the end of Tevez’s career in Manchester.
“He should never be considered for the squad, never train with the first team. If he can be sold, profitably, then let him go. If not, let him rot beyond the reserves,” Daily Mail chief sports writer Martin Samuel stated.
The Guardian’s Richard Williams, meanwhile, accused Tevez — a “grotesquely over-indulged 27-year-old infant” — of committing a “crime against the game.”
“If the outcome is an immediate transfer to Abu Dhabi, then that is exactly what he deserves: a career played out in a football desert,” Williams wrote.
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