Tevez alway ´fights to play´, says Joorabchian

Carlos Tevez’s adviser Kia Joorabchian claims the interview in which the Argentine admitted refusing to play had been mistranslated.

Tevez said in a post-match interview with Sky Sports that he ‘did not feel right to play’ in Manchester City’s Champions League clash against Bayern Munich last week, after allegedly refusing to come on as a substitute.

The striker has been suspended for two weeks by City as they carry out an investigation, but Joorabchian said he did not act out of line after claiming that the questions put to the player in the post-match interview were not accurate.

“If you don’t have a very professional interpreter you have a problem,” Joorabchian said.

“I speak Spanish and English and both of the questions were interpreted incorrectly and both the answers were interpreted incorrectly.”

“(Sky Sports interviewer) Geoff Shreeves said ‘What is the truth Carlos?’ and Carlos said the truth is, ‘At this point how am I going to be in a state to play?’ For the second question, the interpreter interpreted something completely different to what was said.”

“The main issue was what happened on the bench of Bayern Munich was one of confusion. We didn’t actually see what really happened on the bench.”

Joorabchian believes his client is a model professional who is never less than totally committed on the field of play.

“I know Carlos in a totally different light to what most people around the world or in this room know him – since he’s 18 years old. You can criticise him for lots of things but not that he refuses to play,” he said.

“My opinion of Carlos throughout his career is one that fights to play. I’ve never known him to be the contrary.”

Tevez is currently in Argentina but he will return to Manchester in time for training on Thursday of next week when his suspension ends.

And while Joorabchian admits his client still wants to leave Man City, he said this is not a unique situation among big-name players.

“You have seen this happen throughout the summer – (Cesc) Fabregas, (Samir) Nasri, (Luka) Modric who have handed in transfer requests and refused to play,” Joorabchian said.

“I can say they refused to play in a different way. Those managers and clubs handled them very differently.”

“Roberto (Mancini) has his style of management, which is very direct and different to that of Alex Ferguson, Arsene Wenger and Carlo Ancelotti.”