Benzema soon fixed in "the sextape affair"

Europe 1 with AFP 06h00, November 24, 2021

Simple friendly advice or tortious pressure?

To this question which earned French football star Karim Benzema to be tried for complicity in an attempt to blackmail his former teammate Mathieu Valbuena, the Versailles Criminal Court answers this Wednesday.

Benzema and Valbuena absent

At the hearing of the "sextape affair" last month, the prosecution requested 10 months suspended prison sentence and a 75,000 euro fine against the Real Madrid striker, absent from the proceedings because of his job time and the "sporting pressure" that surrounds him, according to his lawyers. The 33-year-old will also be absent Wednesday at 9:30 am in front of the 7th Chamber for the reading of the decision, his club playing in the evening an important meeting of the Champions League against Sheriff Tiraspol, in Moldova.

The plaintiff Mathieu Valbuena, alleged victim of blackmail around an intimate video and who plays at Olympiakos in Greece, will also be absent, said his lawyer. Will this judgment have an impact on the performance of Benzema, very successful with the Blues and very serious candidate for the Ballon d'Or, whose winner will be known on November 29? Two weeks ago, the boss of the French Football Federation Noël Le Graët explained in the daily Le Parisien that the Real striker "would not be excluded" from the France team in the event of "judicial sanction".

Asked about this question in early October, coach Didier Deschamps remained elusive, repeating that he was making “sporting choices” when summoning his players.

As for Real Madrid, it seems very unlikely that they will sanction their best player, whom they have always supported in this matter.

Benzema theoretically incurs a maximum penalty of five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.

If convicted on Wednesday, he could appeal and would again benefit from the presumption of innocence.

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"Bearer of an image"

During his indictment, the public prosecutor had recalled the duty of exemplarity of the star of Real Madrid, "bearer of an image, hope, notoriety and moral values". "Benzema is not a good Samaritan who came to help, he acted to allow the negotiators to achieve their ends and the blackmailers to touch money", had also supported the prosecutor Ségolène Marés, who had underlined the "authority and notoriety in the French team" of the former striker of Olympique Lyonnais.

During the hearing, the recording of a conversation between Benzema and his childhood friend and intermediary in this case, Karim Zenati, was played. We could hear the laughter and mockery of the two men who called each other just after Benzema had spoken to Valbuena at Clairefontaine, the Blues training center, on October 6, 2015. "He does not take us seriously", explains in particular l Real striker, a sign that "he is included in this team and in this project", according to the prosecutor.

"We never said he was benevolent (...) but it is not a criminal offense", replied Me Antoine Vey, Benzema's counsel.

During his plea, he had denounced an investigation "to charge" against his client and a file filled with "assumptions and speculations" only built on the "feelings" of the plaintiff.

In general, all the defense lawyers stigmatized a weak file, which in their eyes did not deserve such treatment from the prosecution and such echo in the press.

Against the four other defendants, prosecuted in this case for attempted blackmail, prosecutors requested sentences ranging from 18 months suspended to four years in prison.