United accept Tevez apology

Manchester United have accepted an apology from Manchester City over a controversial placard held up by Carlos Tevez during their title celebrations.

City striker Tevez, formerly of United, was filmed with a sign reading ‘RIP Fergie’ during City’s open-top bus tour of Manchester with the Premier League trophy.

The banner, thought to have been passed onto the bus by a fan, may have referred to a remark by United boss Alex Ferguson three years ago when asked if his side would ever be underdogs against City.

“Not in my lifetime,” the Scot said.

City reacted quickly to express “sincerest apologies” while Tevez also spoke of his regret.

United chief executive David Gill said: “I think it’s right. The club acted pretty quickly.

“I think it was rather silly, frankly, in terms of what it said, but City acted with commendable speed. We move on and concentrate on other issues.”

Meanwhile Ashley Young (twice), Patrice Evra and Wayne Rooney scored as a strong Manchester United side beat an Irish Premier League XI in a testimonial for former United keeper Harry Gregg at Windsor Park in Belfast. The game, played to support the 79-year-old Gregg who also played for Northern Ireland, also featured Ryan Giggs, Paul Scholes, Michael Owen and Dimitar Berbatov.