Darren Fletcher’s hopes of being cleared to play in the
Champions League final against Barcelona on 27 May have today been
dashed by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary
Body.
The United midfielder was sent off in the second leg of the
semi-final victory over Arsenal, by Italian referee Roberto
Rosetti. The Reds submitted a protest against the dismissal, but
the Control and Disciplinary Body today decided not to admit this
protest.
Similarly, the UEFA Control and
Disciplinary Body did not admit Barcelona’s protests against the
sending off of left-back Eric Abidal and the yellow card shown to
right-back Daniel Alves during their semi-final second leg match
against Chelsea. They, like Fletcher, will now serve a one-match
suspension covering the final.
A United 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.
“While we have great sympathy for Darren, we respect
UEFA’s decision not to admit the protest and
we will therefore not be appealing against today’s ruling.”