MUNICH (AP) — Bayern Munich says it won’t release winger Franck Ribery for an upcoming hearing by the French soccer federation on the country’s World Cup debacle.
The German champion says it “had to learn from the media” that the federation planned the hearing with Ribery and others for Aug. 17.
Bayern says FIFA rules oblige it only to release players for competitive matches on the international soccer calendar and it won’t make Ribery available for the hearing.
Chairman Karl-Heinz Rummenigge says that “the club’s preparations for the new Bundesliga season have priority over the French federation’s processing of the World Cup.”
The federation has opened a disciplinary case against Ribery and four others who went on strike at the World Cup.
