| last updated: Tuesday 12 May 2009, 09:00am |  Print this page |
Fletcher to miss Champions League final
|
| Darren Fletcher |
Uefa have rejected protests from Manchester United and Barcelona against red cards from the Champions League semi-finals.
The decision means Darren Fletcher's hopes of playing in the final have been ruined, while Barcelona's defenders Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves will also miss the season's finale in Rome on May 27.
Uefa's rules state only a case of mistaken identity can lead to a referee's decision being changed and United have ruled out any further attempt to overturn Fletcher's suspension.
A club spokesman said: 'Darren is an honest player and we felt we should do what we could to try and help him become eligible for the Champions League final by initially protesting his dismissal.
'However, we respect the referee's decision and we will therefore not be appealing against the ruling.'
European football's governing body said both United and Barcelona had missed the deadline for filing a protest but that there were no grounds for overturning suspensions in any case.
© Independent Television News Limited 2009. All rights reserved.
