London – Chelsea manager Roberto Di Matteo has called on Uefa to change the rules which have led to several players from both teams being suspended from next month's Champions League final in Munich.
The Blues remarkable elimination of Barcelona on Tuesday came at a cost, with John Terry sent off and Ramires, Branislav Ivanovic and Raul Meireles picking up second yellows which rule them out of the May 19 showpiece.
Bayern Munich have also fallen foul of the rulebook, with three key players set to miss the final after being booked against Real Madrid.
Di Matteo said he believed Uefa should adopt the disciplinary code used at the European Championships, when yellow cards picked up in the first phase of the tournament are annulled after the quarter-final stage.
“That would be ideal. They might have to look at the laws for the future,” said Di Matteo.
“I do feel disappointed that all these players are going to miss the final. It would be good that both teams would have the whole squad available for the final. That would be the best measure.
“I think everybody involved in football would have liked to have seen both teams have all the players available to play this game.”
Di Matteo meanwhile applauded Uefa's confirmation that Terry – sent off for a cynical off-the-ball foul on Alexis Sanchez – would be able to lift the European Cup if Chelsea won the final.
“They used a bit of common sense. That's a good decision,” he said. – Sapa-AFP