Franck Ribery loses final appeal, out of Champions League final

Bayern Munich playmaker Franck Ribery's bid to overturn a red card which has ruled him out of Saturday's Champions League final against Inter Milan was rejected by the Court of Arbitration for Sports (CAS) in Lausanne today.

Ribery appealed to the CAS after being handed a three-match suspension by UEFA, European football's governing body, following his sending off in the semi-final first leg against Olympique Lyon.

The Frenchman, who has guided Bayern to the verge of a treble, learnt his fate in a terse statement which read: "The CAS panel has dismissed the appeal and confirmed the three-game suspension imposed by the UEFA appeals body.

"Accordingly, the player will not be eligible to play in the final of the 2010 Champions League. The reason for the decision will be published by the CAS in a few days."

Ribery, who has already served one match of the ban, was dismissed for a studs-up challenge on Lyon forward Lisandro Lopez.

"For him to miss the Champions League final for an offence of foul play is just too harsh," Bayern chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge had told reporters at the time.

It is extremely unusual for matters concerning bans for incidents on the field to go to the CAS, which usually deals with contractual and off-field disputes.