Fletcher, Alves, Abidal to miss final

BUCHAREST: Manchester United's Darren Fletcher and Barcelona pair Eric Abidal and Daniel Alves will miss the Champions League final after UEFA said on Monday there were no grounds for overturning their suspensions.

UEFA, announcing the decision of its Control and Disciplinary body, said in a statement that the two clubs had failed to get their appeals in on time, but even if they had made the deadline they would have been rejected.

"There were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions," the statement said.