Paul Scholes's sympathy for redcarded Darren Fletcher

06 May 2009 18:50
Manchester United midfielder Fletcher, an unused substitute when his team won the European Cup against Chelsea last season, was dismissed by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti following a challenge on Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas that resulted in a penalty for the home side on Tuesday. [LNB]Rival managers Sir Alex Ferguson and Arsene Wenger both questioned Rosetti's decision to issue a red card, but Uefa have closed the door on any appeal by insisting that cards can only be overturned on the grounds of mistaken identity. [LNB] Related ArticlesFletcher joins list of final absenteesFletcher's will to win cost him final placeArsene, Arsene, rip up the templateMore Ronaldo specialsWatch Barca destroy RealAdebayor urges Wenger to spendFletcher is likely to have been a contender for a starting spot in Rome and Scholes, who was forced to miss United's 1999 final victory over Bayern Munich through suspension, says he will find it difficult to accept a watching role in the Olympic Stadium. [LNB]"Of course I have sympathy for Darren," Scholes admits. "It's not a nice feeling when you have to sit there and watch the final. It's the biggest game of your life and you want to be involved. [LNB]"It's the European Cup final, everyone wants to be playing and it's desperately disappointing if you can't, especially when it's something that wasn't deserved. [LNB]"I'm not sure whether it was a legitimate yellow card that I got [in 1999], but I got one and there weren't too many complaints about it. [LNB]"This is totally different, though, because it was never a red card, simple as that. Even if he did make a foul, we're 4-0 up on aggregate with 10 minutes to go. It seemed a bit harsh to me." Scholes finally won a Champions League medal last season in Moscow and he remains hopeful that Fletcher might still earn a reprieve. [LNB]He said: "If you look at the TV replays, it looks like a perfectly good tackle. [LNB]"Hopefully people will come to their senses and there won't be any consoling needed to be done." [LNB]Players who missed Euro finalsBy John Ley[LNB]1994 Franco Baresi & Alessandro Costacurta: Despite missing both players, AC Milan beat Barcelona 4-0 to lift the Champions League in Athens. [LNB]1995 Steve Bould: The Arsenal defender missed out on a Cup-Winners' Cup final appearance after collecting two cautions. Arsenal lost 2-1 to Real Zaragoza.[LNB]1996 Michael Reiziger Matteo Carrera: Both Ajax and Juventus were hampered by suspensions before the Champions League final. [LNB]1999 Paul Scholes & Roy Keane: The Manchester United pair were both booked in the Champions League semi-final against Juventus, but United won the trophy, beating Bayern Munich.[LNB]2000 Amedo Carboni: Valencia's no-nonsense defender missed the Champions League final in Paris.[LNB]2002 Ze Roberto: The Brazilian missed the final after receiving a caution in Bayern Munich's Champions League semi-final draw against Manchester United, and the Germans duly lost 2-1 to Real Madrid in the Hampden Park final.[LNB]2003 Pavel Nedved: The midfielder scored the third Juventus goal in the semi-final win over Real Madrid but an early booking had ruled him out of the Champions League final, which Milan won on penalties.[LNB]2008 Pavel Pogrebnyak: Scored twice in Zenit St Petersburg's Uefa Cup semi-final second leg win over Bayern Munich but a booking late in the game cost him a final place. Zenit coped, beating Rangers 2-0 at Eastlands.[LNB] 

Source: Telegraph