Carlos Tevez's legal dispute with Manchester City descended deeper into acrimony Tuesday as the Argentine forward responded to being fined almost £1 million ($1.6 million), by threatening to sue manager Roberto Mancini for defamation of character.
City fined Tevez four weeks' wages after being found guilty of five breaches of conduct relating to his behavior during the club's UEFA Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich last month.
On the basis of City's findings, which focused on his refusal to follow instructions to warm up in the Allianz Arena, Tevez and his legal team were threatening to take action against Mancini, who claimed in post-match interviews that the player had outright refused to play.
It emerged earlier Tuesday that City's disciplinary process took consideration of a perceived deterioration in Tevez's attitude after he was informed by the club's hierarchy on September 21 -- six days before the match in Munich -- that he was no longer entitled to £6 million worth of "loyalty payments" due to his persistent efforts to secure a transfer away from the Etihad Stadium.
Tevez's behavior after the home match against Everton on September 24, when he was aggrieved at being an unused substitute, was deemed by the disciplinary panel to be evidence of an uncooperative attitude. The investigation, led by chief operations officer Graham Wallace, also took into account claims from Mancini's staff that Tevez had been slow to involve himself in the pre-match warm-up in Munich.
The player has been given 14 days to respond to the charges and is certain to appeal, given his strength of feeling on the matter. Professional Football Association (PFA) guidelines set a maximum of two weeks' wages, but City's statement said the club had written to the players' union for ratification of a four-week fine.
PFA chief executive Gordon Taylor is understood to have been supportive of City's handling of the matter, The (London) Times reported.
Tevez has also received a written warning about his future conduct and received a two-week suspension from the club, which he is deemed to have served in the immediate aftermath of the incident as the investigation began. He has since returned to training with the club, but has been kept away from Mancini and the first-team squad.
City's billionaire owner Sheikh Mansour has reportedly given Mancini the authority to take whatever action he wishes with the forward after the findings of the disciplinary panel. The club's board also remains united in its resolve only to allow Tevez to leave on City's terms when the transfer window opens on January 1.
Mancini maintains Tevez will "never" play for the club again.
