Karim Benzema has welcomed the news that a trial date has been set for his alleged blackmail of former teammate in France Mathieu Valbuena.
In 2015, the Real Madrid frontman was accused of pressuring Valbuena to pay extortionists who threatened to leak pictures of a sex tape with the former Marseille midfielder.
Mathieu Valbuena and Karim Benzema during their time with France before the Adam Pretty / Getty Images scandal
Valbuena refused to meet the requirements and instead warned the authorities. Benzema has insisted that he is innocent throughout the story and instead claims that he only tried to help his former international colleague.
Benzema was released from his duties in the French national team after the accusations and has not yet received a recall despite his fantastic form at club level with Real Madrid.
Following the news that the Frenchman will now appear in court on October 22 later this year, Benzema reacted emphatically to the court date on Instagram, writing: “Yes, finally, let’s go. Let the masquerade end forever.”
With the court date still over six months left, it seems very unlikely that Benzema will play any role in France’s attempt to become European champions in this summer’s delayed Euro 2020 tournament.
Karim Benzema wants to put the story behind Octavio Passos / Getty Images
French chief Didier Deschamps has insisted he would never forget the story when asked earlier if he would consider Benzema in future selection processes, claiming that both he and his family have received inappropriate letters to exclude Benzema from previous troops.
The French boss was recently asked about the Real Madrid frontman – after Les Bleus’ 2-0 World Cup qualifier in victory over Kazakhstan – although he refused to be drawn into the subject and laughed at the issue before continuing with the press conference.
Whether the outcome of the trial in October will have any impact on Benzema’s future involvement in the French national team remains to be seen.
