The European Football Union (UEFA) Appeals Body, meeting in Nyon on Wednesday 5 May, has upheld the penalty imposed on Franck Ribery by the UEFA Control and Disciplinary Body on 28 April. Ribéry thus remains suspended for the next two European club competition matches for which he is eligible, after already serving one game of the original three-match ban.
The Appeals Body upheld the initial verdict, judging Ribéry’s infringement in Bayern’s meeting with Olympique Lyonnais on 21 April 2010 as violent conduct.
“In my opinion, both Franck Ribéry and our legal representative Dr. Gerlinger convincingly illustrated to the Appeals Body that this was not violent conduct, but rather merely foul play,” commented Bayern Munich chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, who was present in person at the appeal. “In this case, the Appeals Body accepted it was a borderline case. However, the three-member tribunal has unfortunately not accepted Bayern’s plea.”
“We are very disappointed with the verdict,” Rummenigge continued, “and still cannot comprehend why this foul has been adjudged violent conduct. Immediately after the verdict was announced, we informed UEFA that we would exercise our right to appeal against the second verdict. We will continue our fight for a fair verdict, so that Franck Ribéry can play in the Champions League final, despite the suspension being upheld today.”
The appeal against Wednesday’s verdict will be heard by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) in Lausanne.
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