Bayern Munich refuse to release Ribery for FFF probe

Bayern Munich will not release their French star Franck Ribery to appear before a French Football Federation (FFF) disciplinary commission later this month to explain his national team’s training ground strike at the World Cup, the German team said yesterday.

Franck Ribery is among five France internationals ordered to appear before the FFF on August 17 to answer questions on the team’s strike after Nicolas Anelka was sent home from the World Cup for insulting coach Raymond Domenech.

“This invitation or summons was not fixed in agreement with Bayern Munich,” club president Karl-Heinz Rummenigge said in a statement.

“According to FIFA’s statutes clubs are not obliged to free their players apart from dates fixed in the international calendar.

“That is not the case here. For this reason Bayern Munich will not let Frank Ribery go to this hearing.”

Rummenigge said the team had not appreciated hearing about the summons in the press.

“The French Federation does not have the right to arbitrarily remove Franck Ribery from his commitments to Bayern,” he continued.

“Preparations for the next Bundesliga season go before the resolution of conflicts generated in the World Cup by the French Federation.”

Bayern are due to play a German Cup tie on August 16 and the next day will begin preparations for their August 20 Bundesliga opener against Wolfsburg.

Five French players have been targeted by the FFF because they were deemed to have had key roles in the strike.

Patrice Evra as the captain, Ribery as vice-captain, Anelka for insulting Domenech, Eric Abidal for his refusal to play France’s final World Cup match against South Africa, and Jeremy Toulalan for writing the statement issued by the players announcing their intention to strike.

As a result of their behaviour in South Africa all members of the French World Cup squad were left out of Laurent Blanc’s squad for his first game in charge, a friendly against Norway in Oslo tomorrow.

Ribery is also facing trouble on another front after being charged with having sex with an under-age prostitute.

The Bayern Munich player, who faces up to three years in prison if convicted, has admitted paying for sex with Zahia Dehar but denies knowing the call girl was under 18 at the time.