London: Carlos Tevez was found guilty of breach of contract and fined more than $1 million by Manchester City on Tuesday following an internal disciplinary hearing into his behavior during a Champions League match.
But the dispute threatens to drag on for weeks if the striker challenges the verdict that he disobeyed club officials when he did not come off the bench during last month's 2-0 loss at Bayern Munich when requested to do so.
Tevez was suspended for two weeks by City after the row in Germany, but despite manager Roberto Mancini initially declaring that the Argentina international would never play for the club again, he received no further ban from the club's disciplinary panel.
Tevez was fined four weeks' wages, which equates to around 800,000 Pounds, after also being given a written warning about his future conduct, according to the verdict published on City's website.
City maintain that Tevez will only be sold in the January transfer window if a club meets their asking price of around 40 million Pounds for a player with almost three years remaining on his contract.
The 27-year-old Tevez remains available for selection despite Mancini's initial assertion.
Tevez maintained to City that he would only not resume warming up in the second half in Munich, insisting he had already done so - a point which formed the club's charge against the player last week.
But City published five contractual breaches by Tevez on their website.
Topping the list, City said Tevez had not fulfilled "an obligation to participate in any matches in which the player is selected to play for the club when directed by a club official."
City also said Tevez did not follow the instructions of his manager, and brought the club into disrepute.
Tevez has 14 days to appeal against the decision. He would also have the right to a second appeal to the Premier League.
That whole process could see the saga run into December, with Tevez's legal team exploring whether anything initially said publicly by City could be construed as defamation as he maintains that he did not refuse to play.
Tevez was City's topscorer during their run to the FA Cup title last year that ended a 35-year trophy drought, but has been largely out of favor since a failed attempt to secure a transfer in the off-season back to Brazilian club Corinthians, which he left in 2006 to join West Ham.
Tevez, who reportedly forfeited a potential loyalty bonuses of 6 million Pounds as a result of his transfer requests, had started just twice before being named on the bench for the sixth time this campaign for the game in Munich.
The striker, who switched across Manchester from United in 2009, has been training alone since returning from suspension two weeks ago.
Comments
0 comment