Refusing to play for your club is a disgrace and the recent actions of Carlos Tevez have been heavily criticised by top figures in the game and many football fans. But, while nobody can condone what is thought to have gone on, could the situation in fact be a misunderstanding?
Manchester City manager Roberto Mancini is adamant Tevez will not play for the club again, but the player himself has denied allegations that he refused to come off the bench to play in the recent Champions League clash against Bayern Munich. The language barrier issue should not be forgotten as neither Mancini nor Tevez have a fantastic grasp of English, so maybe the situation has been blown out of proportion.
In previous seasons Tevez had been praised for his talent on the field, but has he overstepped the mark this time and lost the respect of the fans?
Many have vented their frustrations at what has gone on with a player, who last season captained the club and was held in high regard. There has clearly been some kind of misunderstanding and maybe Mancini should not have spoken publicly on the matter – neither party is blameless here. Perhaps City fans and those of other clubs should reserve judgement as the facts behind the dispute are not yet 100% clear.
If Tevez did indeed refuse to play, then it is an absolute disgrace. Footballers are paid ridiculously high wages and need to accept that competition for places is part and parcel of the game. Players obviously want to be out there on the pitch but, when their colleagues are in top form, they can’t take their place for granted and must accept it when they are left out.
Tevez wanted to leave the club for family reasons according to a statement he released over the summer. The striker looked set to join Corinthians but the Brazilian club pulled out because they could not finalise the deal before the end of the international transfer window. He must have known he wouldn’t be playing as regularly as in previous seasons. But that does not excuse any player from refusing to go out onto the pitch and do their job! It is also difficult for Tevez to be far away from his family, but that does not excuse this kind of behaviour.
If and when the full story comes out, it is likely that people will still believe Tevez to be in the wrong. Even if it is a misunderstanding, Mancini clearly felt Tevez had behaved wrongly and the striker needs to seriously consider his attitude. But I still believe we should reserve judgement on the former West Ham and Manchester United star for now.
The Argentina international has released an apology to City fans and insists he was ready to play against Munich and never refused to go onto the pitch. But the club have suspended Tevez for the maximum of two weeks while they investigate the dispute and the player’s alleged conduct.
Mancini has stood his ground and rightly took serious action by the fact Tevez seems unlikely to play for the club again. But he should really have dealt with the situation internally and not blabbed it to the media. That part was unfair on Tevez. Yes, he has acted wrongly and deserves to be punished but it should be dealt with privately and not in the public domain.
On the other hand, the club have worked hard to try and solve past issues with him. Although his game time has been limited, he has still had some opportunities to play since realising he wasn’t moving and he should focus on winning his place back. But his alleged actions will make this difficult and could even scupper a future move if other clubs don’t want to risk a repeat of the recent fiasco.
Whatever happens, this event is likely to have a monumental effect on Tevez’s career and he is going to have to work his socks off to get it back on track!
