Manchester United star Phil Jones will miss Champions League opener against Basel after Red Devils withdraw defender’s appeal
MANCHESTER UNITED centre-back Phil Jones will miss the Champions League opener against Basel next week after his club decided to withdraw their appeal over his ban.
The defender was handed a two-match suspension for abusing a match official in the aftermath of the Red Devils' 2-0 win against Ajax in the Europa League final.
Jones was also handed a £4,500 by UEFA for failing to take a drugs test in the aftermath of the victory against the Dutch side.
United had been considering appealing his ban, but they have now withdrawn their appeal.
The ex-Blackburn Rovers ace has already served half of the ban - missing the UEFA Super Cup final against Real Madrid which Jose Mourinho's men lost.
Mourinho saw an application to have his ban delayed rejected- meaning he couldn't take part in the 2-1 defeat against Los Blancos.
Jones was asked to give a blood sample, but instead wanted to take a group photograph with the squad to show solidarity for the victims of the Manchester Terror Attack.
Speaking of his ban, he said: "To be honest I couldn’t believe it. It’s slightly harsh. You see players go in for leg-breaking challenges and they get a one-game ban or a two-game ban.
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"I could understand if I didn’t comply with the rules but I did, oh well that’s football, that’s what they’ve seen.
"Anyone can understand that in a situation like that maybe there was language that was inappropriate but it definitely wasn’t directed to the official himself.
"I definitely didn’t look at him in his eye and say that he was this and that. Looking back on it now, did I deserve a fine? Possibly but a two-game ban is a bit out of the ordinary."
He will join Eric Bailly on the sidelines as the Ivory Coast international is serving a suspension following his dismissal against Celta Vigo in the semi-final of the Europa League.
Chris Smalling and Victor Lindelof will likely start the match against the Swiss outfit - neither have featured in the Premier League this season.
