NYON, Switzerland: Real Madrid's plea for UEFA to open new investigations into Barcelona players' Champions League behavior was rejected Monday. UEFA rejected fresh protests by both clubs, and said no new charges would be leveled following a bad-tempered semifinals, first-leg match last Wednesday, which Barcelona won 2-0. Instead, UEFA's disciplinary committee will Friday examine six charges against the two clubs – five for Madrid, one for Barcelona – including two for Madrid coach Jose Mourinho. Mourinho made offensive comments to match officials and said UEFA actively helped Barcelona reach Champions League finals. Madrid reacted by asking UEFA to sanction Daniel Alves, Pedro Rodriguez and Sergio Busquets for feigning injuries. It also wanted UEFA to look again at a red card shown to Pepe for his tackle on Alves when the match was scoreless after an hour. “In the case of the behavior of the Barcelona players, it was deemed that there was no common strategy to provoke the Real Madrid players, while in the case of Pepe, the referee's factual decision is upheld,” UEFA said in a statement. “As a result, the player Pepe is suspended for the Barcelona-Real Madrid match on (Tuesday).” Madrid assistant coach Aitor Karanka said UEFA's decision to reject the club's claims would lead to more ugly scenes Tuesday.
