Darren Fletcher's hopes of being cleared to play in the Champions League final against Barcelona on 27 May have today been dashed by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body.
The United midfielder was sent off in the second leg of the semi-final victory over Arsenal, by Italian referee Roberto Rosetti. The Reds submitted a protest against the dismissal, but the Control and Disciplinary Body today decided not to admit this protest.
Similarly, the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body did not admit Barcelona's protests against the sending off of left-back Eric Abidal and the yellow card shown to right-back Daniel Alves during their semi-final second leg match against Chelsea. They, like Fletcher, will now serve a one-match suspension covering the final.
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.
"While we have great sympathy for Darren, we respect UEFA's decision not to admit the protest and we will therefore not be appealing against today's ruling."