Manchester City suspend Carlos Tevez for up to two weeks

Manchester City have suspended Carlos Tevez after it was alleged he refused to appear as a substitute in the 2-0 defeat by Bayern Munich.

Tevez, 27, who said the dispute was a "misunderstanding", is banned until further notice for a maximum of two weeks while the club investigate.

"The player's suspension is pending a full review into his alleged conduct," said a City statement.

"The player will not be considered for selection or take part in training."

City manager Roberto Mancini had wanted to introduce Tevez to the action in the second half at the Allianz Arena on Tuesday but the Argentina international appeared unwilling to go on.

"He refused to come on the pitch," said Mancini. "What I said to Carlos is between me, him and the team [but] I am really disappointed because it is Carlos.

"If I have my way, he will be out. He's finished with me.

"If we want to improve as a team, Carlos can't play with us. With me, he is finished."

Tevez released a statement on Wednesday morning, saying: "This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play.

"Going forward I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations."

BBC Sport has since learned that the former Manchester United and West Ham man is unhappy with how his part in the dispute has been portrayed.

Tevez believes his row with Mancini was about warming up and not a refusal to play.

The forward argued that he was ready to play when Mancini wanted to bring him on but the Italian asked him to warm up again.

Team-mate and compatriot Pablo Zabaleta, meanwhile, offered his support for Tevez and urged the club to do likewise on the back of the incident.

The Argentine, who was sat next to Tevez on the bench for the game in Munich, said: "We need to try to help Carlos. It is a difficult moment for him but we need to be calm.

"All players have different characters and sometimes the decision is going to be very difficult for everybody because we have too many players.

"We need to accept that sometimes we are on the bench but we always have to be looking to get into the team."

Fifa vice-president Jim Boyce, however, said that if Tevez did refuse to play, he would support City if they chose to sack the player.

The former Irish Football Association President added: "I believe Fifa should have the power to ban the player from taking an active part in football."

Tevez joined City in the summer of 2009 and has since scored 53 goals in 91 appearances.

In May, he captained the club to the FA Cup with a 1-0 victory over Stoke in the final at Wembley, their first major trophy in 35 years.

However, he has also twice asked for a transfer away from Manchester.

In submitting his first request in December 2010, which was later withdrawn, Tevez said he was homesick.

In July, Tevez again asked to leave City, on this occasion citing family reasons, and looked set to get his wish before a proposed £40m move to Brazilian side Corinthians fell through.

A move elsewhere failed to materialise and BBC Sport learned that Tevez had given up on leaving City before the end of the summer transfer window.

He has made five appearances for City this season but only two starts. He is yet to score.