NYON, Switzerland (AP):

UEFA yesterday upheld the refereeing decisions that ruled out Darren Fletcher of Manchester United and Barcelona's Eric Abidal and Dani Alves from playing in the Champions League final.

UEFA's disciplinary committee rejected both clubs' appeals to let the suspended players take part in the May 27 final in Rome.

UEFA said in a statement that both clubs missed their deadline to appeal within 24 hours of their semi-finals matches played last week.

However, UEFA said even prompt appeals "would have been rejected as unfounded as there were no grounds for contesting the referees' original decisions.

"All three players are therefore suspended for one UEFA club-competition match and will serve their suspensions ... in the UEFA Champions League final," the statement said.

Success unexpected

Neither club expected success in their appeals because UEFA rules allow for field of play decisions to be overturned only in cases of mistaken identity.

Fletcher was sent off after tackling Arsenal's Cesc Fabregas in last Tuesday's semi-final second leg. Fletcher connected with the ball first but his momentum brought down the Spaniard.

Abidal was sent off when Chelsea's Nicolas Anelka went down after a challenge last Wednesday, though TV replays suggested there was no contact.

Alves received a yellow card that activated a ban because of his past disciplinary record.

Alex Ferguson, the United manager, said last Friday that the club wrote UEFA a "compassionate letter" on Fletcher's behalf.

"We understand the system and I honestly believe that the referee made the right decision at the time. I thought it was a penalty," Ferguson said.