July 3 – French prosecutors have asked that Real Madrid star and French international Karim Benzema face trial over his alleged involvement in the attempted sex-tape blackmail of former teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
In 2015, Valbuena alleged to have been the victim of an extortion attempt over a video of a sexual nature in which he appeared. Blackmailers threatened to make the tape public and it’s alleged that Benzema acted as an intermediary between the group.
Prosecutors in Versailles have now said Benzema should face trail. Djibril Cisse, who had previously been implicated in the probe, is not to appear before court.
Benzema has always said that he simply had a friendly conversation with Valbuena to alert him to the existence of such a tape, but the latter claimed the implication was he had to pay to prevent the video from being made public.
The Madrid striker was briefly detained in November 2015, the year before France staged Euro 2016. The scandal ended Benzema’s career with Les Bleus. Coach Didier Deschamps refused to select the striker for the finals. Two years later, Benzema also didn’t feature in France’s World-Cup-winning squad in Russia.
“It’s no surprise at all,” said Sylvain Cormier, Benzema’s lawyer. ”The State Prosecutor has been really involved in this matter, that’s clear, and we were expecting a trial to be requested, although the accusations are not based in reality.”
Contact the writer of this story, Samindra Kunti, at moc.l1732487157labto1732487157ofdlr1732487157owedi1732487157sni@o1732487157fni1732487157