Manchester United Act Quick and Appeal Fletcher's Red Card

Manchester United have acted quickly in appealing Darren Fletcher's harsh red card awarded against him in the semi-final clash against Arsenal.

Fletcher received his marching orders after he seemingly brought down Spaniard Cesc Fabregas which resulted in a penalty. However replays showed that Fletcher actually made good contact with the ball and the decision was deemed as harsh.

However, UEFA general secretary David Taylor has suggested that there may be some hope of the Scottish midfielder appearing in the final yet.

While UEFA rules state that only a case of mistaken identity is the only way a red card can be appealed, Taylor (who spoke with Manchester United manager Sir Alex Ferguson after the game) suggested that the ban may be overturned on compassionate grounds.

"I tried to give Alex as much advice as I could with regards the procedure in these circumstances. There is no formal process. But if the club want to write to us with information—such as video evidence—explaining why they think this is a harsh punishment then they can do that.

The likelihood is that we'd then refer the matter to our disciplinary body. They would then look to see if there were any special circumstances to justify any departure from established procedures"

After the conversation, Ferguson obviously thought it worth a try and quickly lodged the appeal.

This will no doubt, throw up the usual argument of "one rule for Man United, another for the rest."

More importantly, Barcelona may also have a case for an appeal with regards Eric Abidal who was seemingly sent off for no apparent reason in last nights other semi-final contested between the Catalan's and Chelsea.

Nicholas Anelka was storming towards the box when he suddenly fell over, seemingly tripping over himself, however Abidal was harshly shown a straight red.

If Man United can appeal Fletcher's red, then there is no reason that Barcelona can't appeal the red card Abidal received.

If both were overturned then United's midfield would regain the muscle that Fletcher brings to the team which will also be vitally needed against the midfield duo of Andreas Iniesta and Xavi Hernandez.

But Barcelona's dwindling defence will also receive a boost with the return of the French defender.

Question is:

Should Fletcher's red card be overturned?

And is it worth it if it allows Barcelona to regain one of their best defenders?