Bayern Munich's Franck Ribery will miss next month's Champions League final after UEFA Wednesday 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 semifinal last Wednesday, which Bayern won 1-0 in Munich. He then missed Tuesday's 3-0 second-leg win while serving part of the ban. UEFA's decision means he will miss the final in Madrid on May 22, against either Barcelona or Inter Milan. Shortly after the announcement, Bayern said they would appeal the decision. “Franck Ribery and Bayern Munich will not accept this decison and will explore all avenues available,” said spokesman Markus Hoerwick. The loss of Ribery is a blow to the Bundesliga side in its bid to win the Champions League title, formerly known as the European Cup, for the fifth time. It last won the title in 2001. Should Bayern win the Champions League final, Ribery will also be banned for the Super Cup final – between the winner of the Champions League and the Europa League – at the start of next season. If Bayern loses the Champions League final, Ribery will miss the first game of next season's European campaign. Brazil overtakes Spain as No. 1 in FIFA rankings Brazil reclaimed top spot from Spain in the FIFA rankings on Wednesday, returning to No. 1 for the seventh time since their inception in 1993 and ending the five-month reign of the European champions. Brazil has now held top spot for a total of 143 months. World Cup semifinalists Portugal went up a spot to sit third, swapping places with the Netherlands. Argentina rose two places to move to seventh place, while France dropped two spots to fall to 10th in the most notable changes in the top 10. Cameroon is up one place to No. 19 and Nigeria two to No. 20 to be the highest ranked African World Cup teams ahead of the first tournament to be staged on that continent. Egypt is the continent's top-ranked team at No. 13 but won't be going to South Africa after being beaten in a playoff by north African rival Algeria, which is ranked No. 31. Ivory Coast is ranked No. 27, Ghana is No. 32 with South Africa at No. 90. Only North Korea at No. 106 is the only World Cup team currently ranked lower than the host.
