Darren Fletcher may still earn a reprieve to play in final

Marching orders: Darren Fletcher was sent off for a foul on Cesc Fabregas
Andrew Hodgson13 April 2012

Darren Fletcher has been given a glimmer of hope that he could still play in the Champions League Final in Rome.

The Manchester United midfielder was told yesterday that he would be banned from the game with Barcelona following his red card for a professional foul on Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas in Tuesday's semi-final.

UEFA appeals are normally only allowed where there is a case of mistaken identity but one of the organisation's representatives gave Fletcher a glimmer of hope last night.

David Taylor, the former head of the Scottish Football Association, spoke with Sir Alex Ferguson after the match at Emirates and believes Fletcher has a case. He told The Sun: "I've spoken with Alex Ferguson personally on this — as fate would have it we shared a car after the match. We had an interesting discussion.

"He was very fair about the referee but equally was disappointed for Darren.

"Strictly speaking there is no appeal process but representation can be made. If the club want to write with information explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment then they can do that.

"The likelihood is we'd refer it to our disciplinary body who would then see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures."

Paul Scholes, who missed United's final in 1999 through suspension, was the first to sympathise with Fletcher. He said: "It's the biggest game of your life, the European Cup Final. Everyone wants to be playing and it is desperately disappointing if you can't be."

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