Source: Telegraph
Uefa: Darren Fletcher will miss Champions League final
Despite being offered little hope of success by Uefa, United submitted a letter of appeal to European football's governing body last Wednesday in an attempt to have Fletcher's ban, a result of a red card issued during the semi-final victory over Arsenal last week, quashed.
Barcelona lodged similar appeals against suspensions for defenders Eric Abidal and Dani Alves, both of which were also thrown out by Uefa's Control and Disciplinary Body.
A Uefa statement said: "There were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions."
Barcelona's Abidal was sent off by Norwegian referee Tom Henning Ovrebo for a perceived trip on Nicolas Anelka in Wednesday's semi-final second leg against Chelsea, while Alves was booked - his second yellow card in the knock-out stages -- for a challenge on Ashley Cole.
Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola admitted prior to the club's appeal against Abidal and Alves' suspensions that he would support a reprieve for United midfielder Fletcher, who was dismissed by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti for conceding a penalty with what appeared to be a fair challenge on Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas.
But all three players will now be forced to watch from the stands in the Olympic Stadium in Rome following Uefa's decision on Monday.
Uefa are now set to turn their attentions to the disciplinary issues raised at the end of Chelsea's elimination at the hands of Barcelona last Wednesday, when both Didier Drogba and Michael Ballack harangued referee Ovrebo at the final whistle.
Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta expects to be fit for the Champions League final, despite fears that he could miss the game due to a thigh injury.
Iniesta, whose injury-time goal at Stamford Bridge proved
decisive against Chelsea, suffered the injury during Barca's 3-3 La Liga draw against Villarreal on Sunday, with initial scans suggesting that the playmaker had sustained a two centimetre tear of the thigh muscle.
But despite being ruled out of Wednesday's Copa del Rey Final against Athletic Bilbao, Iniesta is confident that he will be fit to face United in fifteen days' time.
He said: "I will be in Rome. It is a small tear that wasn't as
bad as we thought.
"The enthusiasm I have to play in the final will help my recovery."
