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| Sergio Busquets has been cleared following Real Madrid's allegations of racist abuse |
Uefa has dismissed allegations of racist abuse made against Sergio Busquets, paving the way for the Barcelona midfielder to play in next week's Champions League final against Manchester United.The 22-year-old was accused of making racist remarks by Real Madrid during the controversial first leg of their Champions League semi-final last month.
Real published a video on their website ahead of the second leg, with a subtitle alleging Busquets had made a comment towards the wing-back Marcelo during Barça's 2-0 win at the Bernabéu.Uefa last week opened disciplinary proceedings against Busquets, with the case being dealt with over the weekend. A short statement on Barça's official website confirmed the midfielder has been cleared of any wrongdoing.
"Sergio Busquets will play in the Champions League final," said the statement. "Uefa has notified Barcelona they have dismissed the claims of Real Madrid."
The footage on Madrid's website was posted the day before the second leg, which finished in a 1-1 draw to send Pep Guardiola's side through to the final 3-1 on aggregate. It showed Busquets appearing to direct a comment at Marcelo while covering his mouth with his hands, with Madrid alleging the player said "mono, mono" – Spanish for "monkey, monkey". Uefa dismissed the claims "due to a lack of strong and convincing evidence", it said.
The incident was one of several in an ill-tempered tie between the two sides, with both clubs lodging complaints to Uefa after the first leg. Madrid were unhappy with the behaviour of the opposing players and the red card shown to Pepe, while Barça protested over José Mourinho's post-match comments alluding to favours from Uefa in big Champions League games and questioning the Catalan club's relationship with the European governing body.
The complaints were dismissed by Uefa, with Mourinho handed a five-game European ban for his outbursts.
Barça will take on United in the final at Wembley on 28 May.
