Bayern dares France over Ribery case
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Bayern Munich won't release winger Franck Ribery for an upcoming hearing by the French football federation on the national team's World Cup debacle.
The club complained yesterday that it "had to learn from the media" of plans by the federation to summon Ribery and others to Paris for a hearing on August 17.
The German champion said that FIFA rules oblige it only to release players for competitive matches on the international football calendar and it won't make Ribery available for the hearing.
Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge informed French federation president Fernand Duchaussoy of the decision in writing, Bayern said in a statement.
"It cannot be the case that the French federation arbitrarily hauls Franck Ribery out of his commitments at Bayern Munich," Rummenigge said. "The club's preparations for the new Bundesliga season now have priority over the French federation's processing of the World Cup."
The club said that Ribery would be playing a German Cup match against Germania Windeck on August 16 and would start preparing for the following day for the season's first Bundesliga match, against 2009 champion Wolfsburg on August 20.
Disciplinary case
The French federation last Friday opened a disciplinary case against Ribery and four others who went on strike at the World Cup - Nicolas Anelka, Eric Abidal, Jeremy Toulalan and captain Patrice Evra. Ribery was a vice-captain at the tournament in South Africa, which ended in a humiliating first-round exit for France.
The strike was intended to protest Anelka's exclusion from the squad following an expletive-filled tirade directed at the then-coach Raymond Domenech during a 0-2 loss to Mexico.
Meanwhile, France captain Evra said he does not understand why he should be punished and wants to wear his country's colors again.
World Cup-winning fullback and now FFF official Lilian Thuram believes Evra should never play for France again but the player himself would prefer not to dwell on the events in South Africa.
"I am surprised because I had the impression everybody wanted to turn the World Cup page," Evra told French daily Le Figaro. "We need to think about the future. Why sanction us (the five players summoned) more than others ?"
New coach Laurent Blanc opted to leave out all 23 members of the World Cup squad for France's next match against Norway tomorrow.
"I can't see my future without the France team," he said.
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