Manchester City striker Carlos Tevez will avoid a fine after criticising manager Roberto Mancini's training methods this week.

The Daily Mail says Tevez remains so important to arch rivals Manchester City that he is likely to be forgiven for comments implicitly critical of his employers and Mancini.

It is understood senior officials have been angered by Tevez's suggestions that Mancini trains his players too hard and that City should never have included the striker's image on the 'Welcome to Manchester' posters that upset his former boss, Sir Alex Ferguson, at the start of the season.

Nevertheless, Tevez, 26, will not be fined. The club's top scorer and most influential player, he is central to City's chances of sewing up that vital fourth place in the Barclays Premier League.

It has therefore been decided not to rock the boat ahead of Saturday's derby meeting with United at Eastlands.