Fletcher joins club

The Manchester United man was sent off for a clean tackle on Cesc Fabregas when referee Roberto Rosetti mistakenly thought he fouled the Arsenal captain.

As UEFA allow no appeals except in cases of mistaken identity, the Scotsman it set to miss the final in Rome.

However, Fletcher is in good company, joining an illustrious list of players who have missed major finals through suspension.

Paul Scholes rushed to the dressing-room to console Fletcher on Tuesday as he knows his United team-mate's pain all too well.

In 1999, Scholes and Roy Keane both picked up yellow cards against Juventus that saw them miss out on the remarkable 2-1 win against Bayern Munich.

Three days earlier, Denis Irwin was on the sidelines as United completed the second part of their treble with victory over Newcastle in the FA Cup final.

Back in 1983, United were the beneficiaries as Brighton captain Steve Foster was banned for the FA Cup final, which finished 2-2. Foster returned for the replay but Brighton went down 4-0.

Arsenal have had their share of disciplinary misery, with Ian Wright missing the 1994 Cup-Winners' Cup final triumph against Parma, and Sol Campbell sitting out the 2003 FA Cup final with suspensions.

In the same year, Pavel Nedved's efforts dragging Juventus to the Champions League final would earn him the Ballon d'Or, but a soft booking rendered him a spectator as Juve lost to Milan on penalties.

On the international stage, there has been no shortage of high-profile heartache.

The 1990 World Cup final was a poorer affair without the lavishly-skilled Argentina forward Claudio Caniggia. West Germany won a dismal match 1-0 with a late penalty.

A cynical piece of play acting by Slaven Bilic got Laurent Blanc sent off in France's 1998 World Cup semi-final win against Croatia, meaning Blanc was on the sidelines as Les Bleus won football's biggest prize.

Four years later Germany talisman Michael Ballack collected a fateful yellow card in the semi-final against Korea but went on to grab the winning goal. The Germans lost the final 2-0 to Brazil without him.