On Thursday, French prosecutors demanded a 10-month suspended prison sentence for international player Karim Benzema, the Spanish star of Real Madrid, in the case of blackmailing his former teammate, Mathieu Valbuena, with a sexual video.
This comes after the start of Benzema's trial, which started on Wednesday, as the French international missed the first session due to his presence the day before with Real Madrid in Ukraine to play a match against Shakhtar Donetsk in the European Champions League.
Benzema is being tried before the Versailles Criminal Court in the Valbuena extortion case, along with 4 other defendants: Axel Angot, Mustafa Zawawi, Younes Hawass and Karim Zenati.
The case dates back to 2015, when Valbuena was blackmailed by unknown persons over a scandalous tape, when Benzema admitted his interference in the matter at the request of one of the blackmailers, and advised his colleague to pay the money.
According to the prosecution, Benzema revealed to Valbuena the existence of the tape in October 2015, when they were in a preparatory camp for a friendly match for the French national team against its Armenian counterpart.
The case caused the exclusion of both players from the French national team in late 2015, before Benzema returned to participate in the European Nations finals, which the "roosters" bid farewell to from the round of 16 at the hands of the Swiss team.