Europe 1 with AFP 19:20 pm, March 16, 2023

Asked twice, during the announcement of the list of Blues for the qualifications of Euro 2024, on the current controversy with Karim Benzema, the coach of the Blues Didier Deschamps tried to put an end to the controversy. For the strong man of the France, "the subject is closed".

While the remote clash between Didier Deschamps and Karim Benzema has resumed for a week, the coach of the Blues tried to end the soap opera when announcing the list of Blues for the qualifications for Euro 2024. "It's a closed subject, behind, I'm not going to comment anything," tried to evacuate Thursday Didier Deschamps, criticized by Karim Benzema for the management of his forfeit at the World Cup.

"This is a subject that interests you and that can lead to debates and polemics. Very quietly, I had to express myself to say what had happened. It's a closed subject, behind, I'm not going to comment anything again," Deschamps said on the sidelines of his announcement of the list for the start of Euro 2024 qualifying.

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Interview with Le Parisien

Benzema "had said he would not have been ready" for the rest of the World Cup, said the boss of the Blues in an interview with the Parisian published last week, a version disputed with irony by the player of Real Madrid on social networks. The striker, who was injured and left the selection just before the start of the World Cup in Qatar, announced his international retirement the day after the World Cup final lost by the France.

"It's up to you to debate, it's part of your work in quotation marks, me, the important thing is the future and the 23 (players) you know," Deschamps told a news conference on Thursday. Revived, the coach tried to close the debate. "Disruptions, we have known, there have always been. You will not have one more word from me. I stood up to say what had happened. Today, it's behind, nothing will make me talk about this subject again."

On Instagram, Benzema had published a screenshot with comments from the interview of Deschamps by adding the phrase "But what audacity", embellished with a clown emoticon. He also shared a video of a French snapchatter, Ritchie, repeating the word "liar, you're a liar." Above this clip, the striker wrote: "Holy Didier... Good night."