UEFA reject Fletcher appeal

Published: 11 May 2009 - 16:52:00

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UEFA have rejected Manchester United's protest against Darren Fletcher's red card and the midfielder will be suspended for the Champions League final against Barcelona in Rome. Barcelona also had a similar protest on behalf of two players turned down and both Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves will also miss the final. UEFA said in a statement: "All three players are therefore suspended for one UEFA club competition match and will serve their bans when Barcelona meet Manchester United in the UEFA Champions League final in Rome on May 27. The statement continued: "In reaching its decision, the Control and Disciplinary Body concluded (i) 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 (ii) that even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions."