Manchester City defender Micah Richards feels team-mate Carlos Tevez's actions against Bayern Munich in the Champions League this week were "wrong".

29398 - Tevez was out of order, says Richards

Tevez is alleged to have refused to come on as a substitute as City trailed 2-0 at the Allianz Arena, leaving manager Roberto Mancini furious post the final whistle, the Italian stating the striker will not play for the club again under his stewardship.

The Argentina international, who was linked with a move away from the Etihad Stadium in the summer, has subsequently been banned by City for a maximum of two weeks, while there have even been suggestions his side could terminate his contract, pending an investigation into the affair.

Richards told The People: "Carlos' reaction in Munich was wrong. It was something he shouldn't have done. There was always going to be a bit of tension because Carlos is a top player and hasn't been getting in the team. But there was no sign that he was going to do what he did.

"I like Carlos. He's probably still the best player that I have played with and I'll always be grateful he came to City and helped us achieve what we did last season. He's been our best player for the last couple of years and won't be happy the manager has been picking other strikers ahead of him.

"But we are a top team now. We can't just be about one or two players because if you want to challenge for the big trophies it has to be about the strength of your squad. There's a lesson for us to learn here. If we want to be a top team then as individuals we have to sacrifice ourselves.

"I went through it myself. I might not be a big name like Carlos Tevez but I am an England international and I thought I should be playing in every game. You do get emotional. Your pride does hurt. I found it hard when I wasn't in the team and at times I did struggle to just keep my head down and say nothing.

"I've been rotating with Pablo Zabaleta. At left-back it's been Kolarov and Clichy. It's the same with the midfielders and the forwards. Aguero and Dzeko have been on fire this season and when Balotelli came on last week against Everton he scored an important goal.

"I thought Carlos was just waiting for his chance to show what he could do. You're never happy if you aren't playing, but we've got a big squad and we've all just got to use it."

Meanwhile, City captain Vincent Kompany has insisted the squad's harmony has been unaffected by the dispute. He said: "No doubt people will be expecting Manchester City to fall apart after what happened in Munich, but that isn't going to happen," said Kompany.

"Every team will lose games and have setbacks, but there won't be many games more difficult than Bayern away. Okay, so some things have happened that aren't good, but people should just calm down a little bit.

"We will bounce back very quickly. I can't give any answer about Carlos Tevez because I don't know what was going through his mind and I don't know what happened because I was on the pitch.

"I have been here three years and I know there are people out there who want us to fail. But I don't care. All the other players don't care. What outsiders think about our club means nothing to us.

"The negative things people say about us bring us closer together as a team. The only people we care about are the fans, players and people of Manchester City. As captain I can tell you there is no problems between the players.

"We have a great group, a strong group. The atmosphere has been good this season. We will have our disappointments along the way, but we will learn from them and we will get stronger."