Manchester City apologise for Carlos Tevez "RIP Fergie" banner as Black Eyed Peas Fergie fans shocked

A Manchester City spokesperson said, "The creation of the tasteless material is in itself reprehensible and in accepting and brandishing it, Carlos has made a significant error of judgement" and "The club wishes to express its sincerest apologies to Sir Alex Ferguson and Manchester United Football Club for any offence or distress caused."

The offending banner was reportedly handed to Tevez by a Manchester City supporter during the 90-minute bus parade. Carlos Tevez himself expressed his regrets after he was pictured with a sign that read 'RIP Fergie' over a grave stone during the title-winning parade in Manchester. Tevez, who spent two years at Old Trafford before moving to City in 2009 said: "I got carried away in the excitement of the moment and I certainly didn't mean any disrespect to Sir Alex Ferguson, who I admire as a man and a manager."

City were celebrated their first league title in 44 years after a dramatic 3-2 victory over the QPR at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday.

It is thought that the banner referred to a quote by Ferguson prior to a match in 2009 when he responded to a question on whether he ever saw a time when his team would be underdogs, he replied: "Not in my lifetime."

Interestingly, the incident caused a panic on Twitter when  some of the fans of hip hop group Black Eyed Peas thought that the twitter trend on RIP Fergie referred to singer Stacy Ferguson who is also known as Fergie.

RIP fergie is trending worldwide. All the americans think Fergie has died from the black eyed peas. It just gets bigger lol.

— Yianni Charalambous(@yiannimize) May 14, 2012

While Tevez's apology itself evoked mixed reaction on Twitter with some even suggesting that he shouldn't have apologised.

How ridiculous that #Tevez has had to apologise for the 'RIP Fergie' banner! He didn't make it for gods sake! #learntotakeajoke

— Lauren-Klair Soar(@laurenklair) May 15, 2012

Pictures: You Tube