Karim Benzema trial: Real Madrid ace could face up to five years in prison – Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is all set to undergo trial for his alleged involvement in the blackmailing of former French international Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape. Benzema, who returned to the French national team for Euro 2020, has denied wrongdoing and his lawyer has described the case against the player as ‘absurd’. However, should the court find him guilty, the Real Madrid striker could face up to five years in jail.
Karim Benzema trial: Real Madrid star could face up to five years in prison for alleged sex tape blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena
Karim Benzema is charged with complicity in the attempted blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena in a case that goes on trial on Wednesday. It is alleged that the Real Madrid superstar encouraged Valbuena to pay up to the blackmailers in order to keep the sexually explicit tape out of the public eye. Prosecutors allege that Benzema was recruited by the alleged blackmailers to convince his teammate to pay up.
Benzema and Valbuena were both dropped from the national team in the wake of the scandal in 2015 before the former returned to Didier Deschamps’s side earlier this year. Valbuena, who now plies his trade with Greek Super League club Olympiacos, first received a threatening call to expose the sex tape in early June 2015 while at the French squad’s training centre in Clairefontaine. It is reported that the anonymous caller said he wanted to ‘come to an arrangement’ with Valbuena and told him to name an intermediary.
Karim Benzema trial: Real Madrid star could face up to five years in prison for alleged sex tape blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena
Karim Benzema is accused of complicity in attempted blackmail. His four co-accused meanwhile face charges of attempted blackmail. The Real Madrid forward faces up to five years in jail and a £63,000 (€75,000) fine if convicted by the court. Benzema may not attend the first day of the trial after he travelled to Ukraine where he played in his club’s Champions League group stage match against Shakhtar Donetsk on Tuesday. The 33-year-old scored the fifth goal in a 5-0 rout of Shakhtar and will be one of the first names on the team sheet for this weekend’s El Clasico.
Editor's Pick
Top Stories
