Chelsea’s hopes of a reprieve for the trio of players suspended for the Champions League final have been dashed.
The international players’ union FIFPro had called on UEFA to “acquit” the players, plus three from their rivals Bayern Munich, who were all suspended after being cautioned during the semi-finals.
FIFPro pointed out an apparent lack of consistency in relation to Euro 2012 where UEFA will waive existing yellow cards after the quarter-finals. UEFA however insist they will not change their rules to allow the six players to appear in the Champions League final.
Europe’s governing body say the rules that were in place when the competition started must stand for the final, with any future changes needing to go through a lengthy committee process.
A UEFA spokesman told the Press Association: “The regulations of the competition are established at the beginning of the competition and remain in place for the duration of the season.
“Any changes to the regulations for the future would need to be proposed by the club competitions committee and approved by the UEFA executive committee.”
The Chelsea players suspended are Branislav Ivanovic, Ramires and Raul Meireles, with Luiz Gustavo, David Alaba and Holger Badstuber from Bayern. Chelsea captain John Terry is also suspended for a red card in the semi-final against Barcelona, but he was not the subject of FIFPro’s plea for clemency.
FIFPro spokesman Simon Barker said: “Anybody committing a serious offence in the semi-final should be awarded a red card and miss the final.
“But the offences that result in a yellow card do not justify the serious punishment of missing the match of your life.
“For example Alaba slipped over and gets the ball kicked against his hand – it is not right that such a player should miss the Champions League final because of this.
“Some people say that this will give players the license to kick all and sundry during the semi-final, but that is utter nonsense. Any serious offence will result in a red card and that still means exclusion from the final.”