United will not appeal Fletcher's Uefa suspension again

Published on Monday 11 May 2009 22:52

MANCHESTER United have ruled out any further attempt to overturn Darren Fletcher's Champions League final ban after Uefa rejected an appeal against the Scot's red card in their semi-final triumph over Arsenal last week.

Although United were afforded the right of a further appeal it was made clear in yesterday's Uefa ruling that the Old Trafford club stood little chance of success of a reprieve for the Scotland midfielder.

Barcelona's protests over defenders Eric Abidal and Dani Alves were also rejected by Uefa's control and disciplinary committee, and those players too will miss the final in Rome on 27 May.

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.

"However, we respect the referee's decision and we will therefore not be appealing against today's ruling."

Uefa said both United and Barcelona had missed the deadline for filing a protest but that there were no grounds for overturning suspensions in any case.

The ban will come as a huge blow for Fletcher, a non-playing substitute at last season's final, who was sent off by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti for denying Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas a goal-scoring chance – television replays showed, however, he seemed to have won the ball.

Abidal's red card against Chelsea was also viewed as harsh though Alves' caution that will see him miss the final looked straightforward.

A Uefa statement said: "Even if they had been admitted they would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions."

Meanwhile, Barcelona midfielder Andres Iniesta is confident he will be fit for the final against United after tests yesterday showed no long-term damage to his right thigh. Iniesta, who scored the dramatic semi-final goal against Chelsea that earned Barca a place in the final, sustained the injury in Sunday night's 3-3 draw with Villarreal at the Nou Camp and it was feared he would miss the Rome showpiece.

But the 25-year-old is optimistic he will be fit to line up against Ferguson's side.

He underwent tests on the injury yesterday, after which he told Sportnewspaper: "I will be in Rome. It is a small tear that wasn't as bad as we thought. From here until the final I will only think about Rome.

"The desire that I have to play in this final is going to help (my recovery] a lot."