Bayern Munich's Franck Ribéry ("Ribéry") was banned from participating in the 2010 Champions League Final on May 22, 1010 due to the red card he received in the first leg of the semi-final against Olympique Lyonnais on April 21, 2010. In the aforementioned match Ribéry made an ankle tackle on Olympique Lyonnais' Lisandro López for which he was penalized a three-match suspension.

Based on Article 22 subsection 1 of the 2010 UEFA Champions League Regulations[1] "a player who is sent off the field of play is suspended for the next match in a UEFA club competition". UEFA's Control and Disciplinary Body, which has the discretion to augment such suspensions, decided to increase the penalty assessed against Ribéry by suspending him for three matches instead of one, during their April 28, 2010 session. This decision was first appealed by Bayern Munich and Ribéry with UEFA's Appeals Body which upheld the three-match suspension on May 5, 2010.

UEFA's Appeals Body's decisions are open to appeal with the Court of Arbitration for Sports ("CAS"). Bayern Munich and Ribéry filed such an appeal to reduce Ribéry's suspension to a one-match suspension, which would allow Ribéry to participate in the Champions League Final on May 22, 2010. As the Champions League's Final approached fast, the Arbitral Tribunal needed to be constituted and render a final award before May 22, 2010. The hearing was scheduled on May 17, 2010. Given the urgency of the matter the Arbitral Tribunal heard and rendered a decision on the matter on the same day. The CAS Tribunal confirmed Ribéry's three-match suspension and therefore Ribery's exclusion from the Champions League Final was upheld.

This arbitration was (apparently) conducted according to article R 44.4 of the 2010 CAS Rules[2] which provides the possibility to proceed with an arbitration in an expedited manner, whenever parties so consent. This arbitration was conducted, from start to finish, within two weeks, which even for expedited arbitrations is very fast.

[1] http://www.uefa.com/MultimediaFiles/Download/competitions/UCL/88/61/44/886144_DOWNLOAD.pdf

[2] 2010 CAS Statutes of the Bodies Working for the Settlement of Sports-Related Disputes, Article R 44.4.