Bayern’s Ribery banned for Champions League final

Bayern Munich’s Franck Ribery will miss next month’s Champions League final after UEFA banned him for three matches for assault.

The Frenchman was shown a straight red card for treading on the foot of Lyon striker Lisandro Lopez in the first-leg semi-final last Wednesday, which Bayern won 1-0 in Munich.

He missed Tuesday’s 3-0 second-leg win while serving part of the ban.

It means he will miss the final in Madrid on May 22, against either Barcelona or Inter Milan, and will also sit out Bayern’s first game of next season’s Champions League campaign.

Bayern Munich now have three days in which to appeal the decision as they bid to win the Champions League title, formerly known as the European Cup, for the fifth time. They last won the title in 2001.

It has been a difficult few weeks for Ribery who was questioned by French police recently as part of their investigations into the under-age call-girl scandal which has rocked France’s national football team.

Munich booked their place in the Champions League final with a superb performance on Tuesday in Lyon as their Croatian striker Ivica Olic scored a hat-trick in the 3-0 rout of the French side.