A new shock for Benzema ... setting a trial date and a harsh sentence in the event of a conviction

Former French international Karim Benzema, the Spanish star of Real Madrid, received a shocking news yesterday, after a court in Versailles, France, set the date for the trial of Benzema between 20 and 22 October next on charges of "complicity with attempted extortion", with a sex tape in 2015 of his former colleague Matteo Valbuena, according to an office. The city attorney general told (AFP) today.


The 33-year-old attacker faces a severe sentence in the event of conviction, up to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros, in the case in which four other men are being tried for attempted extortion, where one of them is also being tried for breach of trust.

Benzema is accused of instigating Valbuena to pay an amount of money to the blackmailers who threatened to reveal an intimate video of him, and the former admitted to interfering in the matter at the request of one of the extortionists.

The file is based in particular on a discussion that took place in October 2015 between the two men in Clarefontaine, the training center of the roosters' national team, during which Benzema allegedly made clear that he could introduce Valbuena as a "trustworthy person," according to what the latter said at the hearing, to help him "deal." With any possible deployment of the tape.

The judiciary will determine whether this conversation resulted from friendly advice or harmful pressure.

When Benzema was referred to the Criminal Court in Versailles in January, his lawyer Sylvain Cormier denounced the decision, saying, "Unfortunately, we are not surprised. This is a ridiculous and predictable decision."

According to the prosecution, Benzema revealed to Valbuena the existence of the tape in October 2015, when the French national team was in camp in preparation for a friendly match against Armenia in the southern city of Nice.

Benzema claimed at the time that he had intervened with Valbuena at the request of a childhood friend of mine that the crooks had taken refuge in.

Benzema and Valbiona, 36, who is currently playing in Olympiakos, Greece, has missed the French national team since August 2015 due to his role in the case.

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