Manager Roberto Mancini told reporters that the Argentine had ignored his instruction to warm up early in the second half of Tuesday's 2-0 defeat in Germany and that Tevez was "finished" while he was manager.
Tevez, who has found controversy follow him from club to club, sought to placate City fans whom he has already angered over the past year with his open desire to leave the club.
"There was some confusion on the bench and I believe my position may have been misunderstood," he said in a statement, according to local media.
"I would like to apologise to all Manchester City fans, with whom I have always had a strong relationship, for any misunderstanding that occurred in Munich.
"They understand that when I am on the pitch I have always given my best for the club. In Munich on Tuesday, I had warmed up and was ready to play.
"This is not the right time to get into specific details as to why this did not happen. But I wish to state that I never refused to play. Going forward, I am ready to play when required and to fulfil my obligations."
If Mancini sticks to his guns, Tevez's words will fall on deaf ears at a club whose patience he has tested several times.
He made scathing comments about Manchester on an Argentine chat show in June, saying the city "has nothing" and is "very expensive" and that he was "never going back to Manchester, not even on holiday."
'DISGRACE TO FOOTBALL'
His arrival in the blue side of the northwest English city created a storm when City posted a giant 'Welcome to Manchester' billboard following his defection.
That transfer provided Tevez with a platform he never had at United to be the team's main goalscorer and it looked like the flow of controversy around him might have been stemmed.
What happens next remains to be seen as Mancini said he would be talking to the club's owner Sheikh Mansour, who is likely to be unimpressed by the widespread criticism from the footballing world and British media of the player.
"He is a disgrace to football," former Liverpool manager Graeme Souness, now a television pundit, said. "The own
