London: Argentinian footballer Carlos Tevez Thursday returned to Manchester City for training all alone a day after the club found him guilty of breach of contract for which he may have to cough up a record fine.

Tevez said he was going to challenge the allegations.

It is not clear whether Tevez will be kept away from the squad during the entire disciplinary process that now appears to take two months.

The club’s initial findings found Tevez guilty of refusing to play against Bayern Munich whereas he is sticking to his statement that it was a “misunderstanding” and hinted that City manager Roberto Mancini should apologise for the damage he has caused to his reputation.

City has made it clear that it will not accept Tevez’s explanation and that he has to face a disciplinary hearing before the weekend on the grounds that he has “a case to answer for alleged breaches of contract,” the Guardian reported.

The club is sure that it has unassailable evidence against Tevez, not only from the statements from players and coaches, but also what he said in a TV interview after the game, admitting not in the right frame of mind to play.

The club has got in touch with the players’ union, the Professional Footballers Association, to inform them that it intends to hand out Tevez a stiff punishment as the 2005 guidelines stipulate that any penalty must get the organisation’s clearance and that means an further four-week suspension to add to the fortnight he has already undergone. Add to it a fine of six weeks’ wages at his 250,000 pounds sterling salary a week and that makes it the biggest fine a player ever received in Britain. (IANS)

LONDON: Manchester United striker Wayne Rooney’s Everton connections meant he was already in for a rough ride from Liverpool fans this weekend but last week’s family problems and England sending-off should crank up the decibels of abuse at Anfield.

Liverpool host Rooney’s table-topping United in one of the glamour fixtures of the Premier League in the early kickoff on Saturday and the usual fierce rivalry between the north-west neighbours will now have extra spice.

Rooney will miss the start of Euro 2012 after being dismissed for a wild kick in England’s 2-2 draw in Montenegro, just after his father and uncle had been arrested and bailed over an alleged betting scam which they deny.

The Liverpool-born former Everton striker will run the gauntlet at a noisy Anfield but has proved time and again he can overcome adversity.

A 2006 World Cup red card failed to knock his blistering career off course and he has recovered from last season’s dip in form and bizarre contract wrangle to rediscover his mojo with nine league goals from seven matches this term.

United manager Alex Ferguson, perhaps pleased that England coach Fabio Capello has said Rooney will not start any friendlies in the build-up to Euro 2012, was not overly worried by his main forward’s lack of self-control.

”He has been tackled and he has reacted,” the champions’ boss told a US radio station. ”He has this fiery temper which, to my mind, is not the worst thing in the world. He has shown tremendous improvement in his temperament and his reactions to tackles and things over the past few years. He is improving all the time.”

Two players who were not away with England because of a lack of fitness, United centre back Rio Ferdinand and Liverpool midfielder Steven Gerrard, will be desperate to return to the starting lineup in a game Liverpool won 3-1 last term. (Agencies)

KRAKOW Poland: Cristiano Ronaldo and his Portugal teammates have been handed a testing draw against Bosnia-Herzegovina in the 2012 European Championship playoffs.

Thursday’s UEFA draw pitted the Euro 2004 finalist against a team that pushed France all in the way for Group D’s automatic qualification spot in a rematch of the countries’ 2010 World Cup playoff, which Portugal edged 2-0 on aggregate.

In the other matchups, Ireland was drawn to play away first against Estonia, which has never reached the finals of a major tournament. Euros debutant Montenegro will host the second leg against the Czech Republic, while Turkey, a Euro 2008 semifinalist, faces Croatia first in Istanbul.

First-leg matches will be played Nov. 11 or 12. Return games are scheduled Nov. 15.

Winners will complete the 16-nation lineup at the June 8-July 1 tournament co-hosted by Poland and Ukraine in eight cities.

Portugal’s technical director Carlos Godinho said Bosnia was difficult to beat last time, when both matches resulted in tight 1-0 wins.

Bosnia advanced to the Euro 2012 playoffs despite almost being kicked out of the tournament while suspended by FIFA and UEFA for two months last season over political issues.

Ireland returns to a major playoff two years after a controversial World Cup defeat by France, and drew the lowest-ranked unseeded opponent.

The finals tournament draw is made Dec. 2 in Kiev.

Poland and Ukraine are given automatic top-seeding in their four-team groups, and defending champion Spain and the Netherlands have No. 1 status. Germany, Italy, England and Russia will be the No. 2 seeds. (Agencies)

YEONGAM: Partying with Michael Schumacher gave Sebastian Vettel the hangover of champions after he clinched his second Formula One title last weekend.

The 24-year-old German got together with his illustrious compatriot, who has celebrated more success than anyone in the history of the sport, after becoming the youngest double champion in Japan.

”Once I found myself in the bar with the boys we enjoyed that night very much,” the Red Bull driver told reporters at the Korean Grand Prix on Thursday when asked what he had got up to after the race at Suzuka.

”We had a very good time, did some karaoke… it was quite special as some time in the night Michael came as well and joined us and we had a couple of drinks together.

”I think after he came I felt much worse as I started mixing a little bit, which wasn’t the best strategy,” added Vettel with a grin.

”All in all it was a fun night.”

Vettel, who recalled joining his mechanics for karaoke renditions of the Beatles’ ‘Yellow Submarine’ and ‘Hey Jude’ plus Frank Sinatra’s ‘My Way’, said his success had only really started to sink in once he found some private time on Tuesday.

The German has made precious few strategic errors on the racetrack this season and the champion, with nine wins to his name from 15 races, left his rivals in no doubt that the hangover was long gone.

He would, Vettel assured them, be just as determined and competitive as ever.

Ultimate target

”The moment you come to a race thinking that it doesn’t really matter where you finish, it’s the moment when you should probably stay at home,” he said.

”Of course the championship was the ultimate target… but nevertheless we come here with pressure.”

”Even if people don’t put pressure on us as usual or as much as usual, we put pressure on ourselves because we love racing.”

With four races to come, Vettel can still hope to equal Schumacher’s 2004 record of 13 victories in a season.

The Yeongam circuit, in the south-western tip of South Korea, is considered a ‘Red Bull track’ with Vettel and team mate Mark Webber sweeping the front row last year but both failing to finish.

That was Vettel’s last retirement and this year’s race could see Red Bull add the constructors’ title to the drivers’ for the second year running — a double double.

”We will not be happy leaving this track knowing that we could have done better,” said Vettel, who had led in Korea last year until his engine blew.

”The approach will remain the same… obviously I’ve never been on the podium (here) and I’m looking forward to a good race… we’re not lacking in motivation.” (Reuters)

Montevideo (Uruguay): Uruguay’s football star Diego Forlan has become the leading goal scorer for the country’s national team.

The honour for the 32-year-old Forlan, who plays for Italian Serie A’s Inter Milan, comes after the strikers’ goal in Uruguay’s second qualifying match against Paraguay Tuesday night, taking him to 32 goals scored for the national team.

“I’m happy. This goal was special because we knew it was a good moment to dominate the game,” Xinhua quoted Forlan as saying.

He scored against Paraguay in a 1-1 drawn match in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion, which saw him surpass the previous record of Hector Scarone, who played for Uruguay between 1916 and 1939.

Forlan, top scorer in the 2010 World Cup in South Africa, is also the player with most matches played for the South American nation with a total of 84 official games.

Since his debut with the national team in 2002, Forlan has seen 34 victories, 28 ties and 22 defeats.

He moved to Inter this summer after serving Atletico de Madrid and topping the scorers’ standings in the Spanish league for two seasons. (IANS)