UEFA uphold red cards

UEFA have maintained their steadfast refusal to overturn refereeing decisions by rejecting protests from Manchester United and Barcelona against red cards incurred in the Champions League semi-finals.

The rejection means Darren Fletcher’s hopes of playing in the final have been dashed, and Barcelona’s defenders Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves will also miss the season’s climax in Rome on May 27.

UEFA’s rules state only a case of mistaken identity can lead to a referee’s decision being changed and United have ruled out any further attempt to overturn Fletcher’s suspension.

A club 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 the 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.