Manchester City has reluctantly agreed to halve Carlos Tevez's fine after the Professional Footballers Association said it would not support the original four-week wages sanction in another twist to the bitter saga.
Tevez was disciplined after coach Roberto Mancini accused the 27-year-old Argentine international striker of refusing to appear as a substitute during City's 2-0 Champions League defeat at Bayern Munich last month.
The player has denied Mancini's claims, saying the incident was a misunderstanding and that he had only refused to warm-up because he felt it was unnecessary.
His four-week fine, imposed at a Tuesday disciplinary hearing at the club where he was found guilty of five breaches of contract, was believed to total around 1 million pounds.
"The club acknowledges that the Players' Union is the sole organisation empowered with granting the ability for clubs to levy fines greater than the two weeks provided for in player contracts," the City statement said.
"However, Manchester City is disappointed by the apparent PFA conflict of interest evident in this process.
"Carlos Tevez has been personally represented throughout by the PFA chief executive, on whose considerations the club has been informed that the PFA has made its decision.
"Manchester City has been in constant dialogue with the PFA since September 28. Today's PFA decision is a departure from the club's understanding of that dialogue.
"Without recourse to the PFA decision available, the maximum two-week fine provided for in standard player contracts will now be applied in relation to the misconduct of Carlos Tevez."
Earlier Thursday, PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor said the four-week penalty was wrong as the evidence suggested that Tevez had never refused to play and that the fine imposed exceeded agreed limits.
"The PFA's opinion, based on all the evidence presented, is that Carlos Tevez never refused to play for the club," said a statement.
"This is accepted by the club in that the charge against Carlos made at the hearing was not one of refusing to play."
Mancini would not answer questions on Tevez after his side's League Cup fourth-round win at Wolves.
Tevez, who can appeal his punishment by the club, is eligible for selection but he is likely to remain an isolated figure.
The former West Ham and Manchester United player has been training alone since returning from suspension.
AFP
Tags: english-premier, soccer, sport, england, united-kingdom First posted October 28, 2011 11:15:16
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