Even though the decision to send Darren Fletcher off in yesterday’s Champions League semi-final seemed incredibly harsh, UEFA is saying that there is no chance of the red card being overturned.
“Manchester United have the right to file a protest within 24 hours of the match however a protest against a caution or sending off is only admissible if the referee’s error was to mistake the identity of the player.”
A UEFA source added: “It opens Pandora’s box if you can challenge every decision. And if you rule that it is not a red card, then you are also saying it is not a penalty, and therefore not a goal, and what do you do then – start changing the results of matches afterwards?”
I can understand that officials from UEFA and FIFA don’t want something like this to get out of control and have every red and yellow card to get called into question, but when the referee is that wrong it seems that should be someway to appeal a sending off.
