collie40
Well-Known Member
cleavers said:The mirror, just before a derby, funny old thing.Mancini - ohhh said:LoveCity said:Here we go.
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Manchester City have made a dramatic climbdown over Roberto Mancini's claims that Carlos Tevez refused to play against Bayern Munich.
Tevez will still be hauled before a club internal inquiry in Manchester on Friday over his alleged actions during a Champions League tie at the Allianz Arena three weeks ago.
But the Mirror has learned from City sources that sensational evidence will show no one at the club has backed Mancini's version of events that night.
In fact, Tevez will not even be charged with refusing to play in Munich, as even Mancini's assistants Brian Kidd and David Platt and fitness coach Ivan Carminati were unable to back their boss up.
Tevez will be accused only of "refusing to carry out Roberto Mancini's and Ivan Carminati's instructions to resume warming up with a view to playing in the match".
City's ability to hit Tevez with a severe punishment may now be compromised by the reduced charge and the confused picture of events the written evidence is believed to present.
And it leaves Mancini in an uncomfortable situation as City head into their eagerly-awaited derby showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford on Sunday.
Sources say that written submissions from City staff and players paint a vivid picture of a bench in a state of chaos and uproar at the Allianz Arena.
Mancini was 'nervous' because City were 2-0 down and angry because striker Edin Dzeko had gestured angrily at him when he was substituted in the 55th minute.
At one point, Mancini is even believed to have shouted instructions at Tevez in Italian, even though the Argentine striker does not speak the language.
And it is thought that, in his testimony, Carminati admits that when he asked Tevez to warm up, the player replied, "I'm ready."
Mancini's evidence is believed to show that he is the only person on the bench that night sticking to the story that Tevez refused to play.
Sources say he maintains that Tevez said 'no' when he asked him for a second time to get off the bench, but even Mancini admits it was so noisy in the stadium that it was hard to hear what was being said.
And a submission from another member of City's staff is thought to suggest Tevez actually said "por que" (Spanish for 'why') when Mancini asked him to warm up again during the second half.
Neither Kidd, whose duties include filling out the substitutes' card to notify the fourth official of a change, nor Platt can say whether Mancini was even intending to put Tevez on.
Sources say that the written evidence will state no substitute's card with the name of Tevez on it was ever filled out.
It is thought that the striker will insist again at the hearing that he did not refuse to play in Munich, and will say he was unsure about whether to warm up because he had already spent 10 minutes exercising on the touchline at the start of the second half.
Written evidence also suggests events on the bench lurched into farce when Tevez finally grasped that Mancini wanted him to warm up again.
When the player stood up to head back out to the touchline, Mancini yelled at him to sit down and told him he didn't want to play him.
The Tevez camp has previously claimed it was that exchange which led to the 27-year-old telling Sky Sports reporter Geoff Shreeves after the match that he was not in the right frame of mind to play.
The Argentine striker is thought to insist, once again, in his evidence that he never refused to go on to the pitch or refused to play - the accusation that Mancini levelled at him in the post-match press conference.
And written statements from more than a dozen City players and staff are believed to back up his version of events.
It is believed that the Tevez camp will fight any disciplinary action against the striker and are prepared to take the case to a Premier League tribunal.
I dont care what happened that or who did what or said when! We all knew before this incident that Tevez was/is a ticking time bomb!
He cant play 4th striker and he wont be number once choice so its all down hill from here.
He has been great whiles on the pitch for the club, however he has been disgusting off the pitch for the club and for the city!
He epitomises every single letter in the word mercenary!!
Get rid!
Spin doctors have been hard at work i see! I know what i saw and i'd rather have Barry Conlon play up front for us than Tevez!