DARREN FLETCHER’S faint hope of facing Barcelona in the Champions League final expired last night when Uefa rejected Manchester United’s attempt to overturn his red card against Arsenal in the semi-final. European football’s governing body insisted “there were no grounds” to contest the decision of the Italian referee, Roberto Rosetti, and, with United opting not to appeal, the Scotland international will miss the showcase event in Rome’s Stadio Olimpico on May 27th.
At a specially convened extraordinary meeting, Uefa’s control and disciplinary body also dismissed Barcelona’s protests over the suspensions of their first-choice full-backs Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves, who will also miss the final.
The Old Trafford club submitted a written report to Uefa in an attempt to exonerate Fletcher because there was no avenue to appeal against his straight red card for a professional foul on Cesc Fabregas, despite replays confirming the midfielder played the ball first.
United decided not to appeal after reviewing the Uefa paperwork pertaining to yesterday’s verdict. A United spokesman said: “Darren is an honest player and we felt we should do what we could to try to help him become eligible for the Champions League final by initially protesting his dismissal. However, we respect Uefa’s decision not to admit the protest and we will therefore not be appealing against today’s ruling.”
United manager Alex Ferguson admitted last week the report had been submitted out of duty to Fletcher rather than in genuine belief of a reprieve. Rosetti is among the leading candidates to referee the Champions League final in his home country and there is also a belief that Uefa is reluctant to set a precedent by allowing appeals other than in cases of mistaken identity.
Explaining the suspensions, Uefa said: “In reaching its decision, the control and disciplinary body concluded that the protests had not been submitted within the required 24-hour deadline of a match for filing protests – as specified in the disciplinary regulations – and even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referee’s original decisions.”
Barcelona’s fate is arguably worse than United’s, with Uefa upholding Abidal’s red card for an alleged trip on Chelsea’s Nicolas Anelka and the yellow card for Alves that triggered a one-match ban for the Brazilian right back.
The Catalans are already without central defender Rafael Marquez for the rest of the season due to a knee injury, and Andres Iniesta and Thierry Henry are doubts for the final with thigh and knee problems respectively.
Iniesta is confident of being available after scans revealed a two-centimetre muscle tear suffered during Sunday night’s 3-3 draw with Villarreal.
Guardian Service
