Lyon's Swiss defender Patrick Mueller has walked out on the French champions in a bid to salvage his Euro 2008 chances, while Saturday's Coupe de France final will be goalkeeper Gregory Coupet's last match for the club.

Mueller left the club against the wishes of manager Alain Perrin and will now join up with his Swiss team-mates at the team's training camp in Lugano.

"He informed the club that he would not be going with them to Paris for Saturday's final," Switzerland coach Koebi Kuhn said.

"We will of course support him, but it was ultimately his decision. He wants to play at Euro 2008 and we believe he has earned a chance to prove he can do so."

Lyon, whose squad were flying to Paris, were not immediately available for comment.

Mueller, 31, has been caught up in a tug-of-war between Switzerland and Lyon, who are both due to play important games on Saturday.

Lyon face Paris St Germain in the Coupe de France final while the Swiss take on Slovakia in their last friendly before Wednesday's deadline for Euro 2008 squad nominations.

The French club had said they would wait until late on Friday before deciding whether or not to release the player.

Under FIFA's regulations, clubs are obliged to release players 14 days before the start of international tournaments.

Mueller's case was seen as ambiguous however as the cup final takes place exactly two weeks before the start of Euro 2008.

"The Swiss FA lawyers do not believe that Mueller will face any sporting sanction over this," Kuhn said. "For me it is just important that he will be available to play for us and I think the rest will blow over in a couple of days."

Mueller, whose contract with Lyon was due to expire at the end of this season, is eager to prove his fitness after tearing a cruciate knee ligament in December.

He has played just one first team match for the club, on the opening day of the season, and had not been guaranteed to play in Saturday's cup final.

"He will certainly play for us against Slovakia," Kuhn said, "but he knows there is also no guarantee that he will make our final 23-man squad.

"We only have a few days to make the decision. We will see how Saturday's match goes and talk to Patrick himself about how he feels."

Coupet, 35, who has been at Lyon for more than 10 years - winning the last seven league titles with them - has been linked with a move to Tottenham Hotspur.

Lyon stated they had received no offer from the London club, but Coupet indictated that he will move on this summer.

"Yes, it will be my last match [for Lyon]," he told the club's television channel.

Reuters