Tevez could face FIFA ban - BoyceFIFA vice-president Jim Boyce has hinted they could be ready to back Manchester City if they choose to throw the book at Carlos Tevez.Last Updated: 28/09/11 at 18:53 Post Comment
City boss Roberto Mancini claimed last night that the Argentina striker refused to come on as a substitute in the Champions League defeat to Bayern Munich, although the player has since denied that.
There appears to be no chance of reconciliation though, with Mancini already on record as saying Tevez's career at the club is over as long as he gets his way.
How exactly that would happen is harder to predict.
Tevez was available for transfer during the summer without any viable takers emerging and his recent actions have hardly made him a more appealing prospect.
That leaves the option of disciplinary action and the potential for cancelling his contract or seeking a ban.
Boyce, speaking in a personal capacity, would be happy to back any such move.
"If he has done what has been said, and it appears there is no doubt about it - no matter what has been said this morning - then I think his club would be better off without him," he told Sky Sports News.
"If Manchester City Football Club prove it, write to FIFA and state the exact circumstances that happened last night then I believe FIFA should have the power, as they do for drugs-related cases and other cases, to ban the player from taking an active part in football.
"I would have no problem with that whatsoever. It hasn't occurred before but I think what happened last night was despicable."Boyce, who is life president of the Irish Football Association, also said the game's governing body would be within their rights to prevent him signing for a rival club if City opted to release him.
"If this player did what he has been accused of doing, then if Manchester City were to release him tonight I don't think it would be right if he could go and earn a considerable amount of money somewhere else next week," added Boyce.
"I would have no problems if some sanctions were imposed by FIFA in that respect.
"People within the clubs and within the top level of FIFA have to consider that. If Carlos Tevez does it, who's to stop someone else doing it the next week or the week after?"
Former Bayern and Germany midfielder Stefan Effenberg believes Mancini is right to throw Tevez out of his squad.
Effenberg, who captained the Bavarian side to their last Champions League triumph in 2001 and now a pundit on Germany's Sky television, said: "That player would never play in the same club as me again."There is a clear order from the coach and he disregards it. That is poor behaviour and the club has got to come down hard on it."
According to Effenberg, Tevez will also now have problems finding another employer who would still be keen on him after the incident.
He added: "Other clubs are going to have to consider whether they want to sign a player with such a character.
"You just don't do something like that. It is disrespectful to your team-mates and is not just in spite of the coach, but in spite of the whole team. I hope they actually go through with what Mancini says and that he never plays for the club again."
Meanwhile, leading employment lawyer Howard Hymanson, head of the employment practice at Harbottle & Lewis, has claimed the club could make up any shortfall transfer fee by suing the player for damages.
Hymanson said: "If the club retains Mr Tevez's services and looks to ship him out in the January transfer market, it faces the likelihood of receiving a significantly reduced transfer fee because of the player's general conduct and overwhelming desire to be away from the club.
"Keeping Tevez therefore will mean that the club will, in any event, take a significant loss from what they may regard as being his true transfer value.
"However, it may be that the club chooses to make an example of Tevez and dismiss him for gross misconduct and sue him in damages for the losses which it would sustain on receiving no transfer fee.
"Arguably, these losses are a foreseeable result of his alleged refusal to play, if that was indeed the case.
"Presumably, he will be good for the money if sued, given the vast sums that he has earned through his footballing career."
City could face legal action regardless of how they respond to last night's events, according to the head of Burlingtons LLP's sports law department, and partner, Katie Simmonds.
She said: "Man City are likely to weigh up whether or not Tevez's alleged breach of his playing contract warrants premature termination.
"Careful consideration will need to be given as to whether this will leave them exposed to a potential employment claim from Tevez, including wrongful and/or unfair dismissal.
"Given the speed in which Tevez has released his statement explaining the position, any early termination of his playing contract would have to be well conceived in order to protect the club's position, as they will need to justify that such drastic action is reasonable.
"I would be surprised if Man City adopted a hardline approach and sued one of their players for breach of employment contract as this would have a devastating effect on team morale."
Simmonds also warned taking no action was fraught with danger, adding: "If it transpires that Tevez refused to play and he walks away from this episode without fine or sanction then this will undermine Mancini, potentially making his position at the club untenable.
"Worse-case scenario, if this led to Mancini resigning then potentially this could leave Man City open to an employment claim for constructive dismissal.
"The owners will have a tough balancing act of dealing with issues of employment, contract and, undoubtedly, egos to ensure that the club's reputation remains intact.
"The world of football and sport at large will be watching Man City's reaction to these events which could set a dangerous precedent in affording players too much power."http://www.football365.com/manchester-city/7209174/FIFA-VPstefan effenberg~~
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