Karim Benzema sentenced to 1 year suspended sentence and 75,000 euros fine in the sextape case

The sentence fell shortly after 10 a.m. on Wednesday morning. Found guilty of complicity in the offense of attempted blackmail against his former teammate in the France team Mathieu Valbuena in the sextape affair, Karim Benzema was sentenced by the Versailles criminal court to one year in prison suspended and 75,000 euros fine, which was the maximum required. Against the four other defendants in this case which shook the world of French football, the court handed down sentences ranging from eighteen months’ imprisonment suspended to two and a half years in prison.

The Blues striker’s lawyers immediately announced that their client was appealing the judgment. “The appeal is necessary because Benzema has nothing to be ashamed of and he will be cleared, announced his lawyer Me Cormier at the microphone of BFMTV. It was clearly stated by the court that Karim Benzema was not aware of the preliminary maneuvers. (…) We are quite flabbergasted by this judgment. He will be exonerated at the height of this appeal.”

“Benzema got personally involved, at the cost of subterfuge and lies, to convince his teammate to submit to blackmail“, estimated the correctional court of Versailles in its judgment. The star of Real Madrid did not show”of no benevolence towards Valbuena, on the contrary“: the at ease”with some excitement, even some jubilation“, added the judges.

Karim Benzema’s advice clarified that their client, absent from the debates last month and from the deliberations on Wednesday, would be present at a second trial. “The reaction is a reaction ultimately of anger“, added his lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, evoking a”very severe penalty, unjust and without proof. ”For his involvement in this intimate video blackmail against Valbuena in 2015, the prosecution had requested against him 10 months in prison and a 75,000 euros fine.

Four other convicted men

During the indictment, prosecutors recalled the duty of the star of the France team to set an example, “bearer of an image, hope, notoriety and moral values“. Besides Karim Benzema, four other men were sentenced at Versailles for this affair. Axel Angot, to whom Mathieu Valbuena had entrusted his phone, was sentenced to two years in prison. He had found the video and kept it in view of later use His sidekick Mustapha Zouaoui, considered the “umbilical cord” of this affair, was sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Against a first intermediary, Younes Houass, who came into telephone contact with Mathieu Valbuena to talk to him about the “sextape”, the court handed down an 18-month suspended prison sentence. Finally, Karim Zenati, childhood friend of Karim Benzema, was sentenced to 15 months in prison. None of the defendants was present when the deliberation was read and an arrest warrant was issued against Mustapha Zouaoui.

No sanction with the France team?

At the hearing, Mathieu Valbuena, 37, current Olympiakos midfielder in Greece, explained that he “afraid“for his career.”I knew if the video came out it was gonna be hard for me“, he had explained at the bar, before specifying:”I felt in danger, my first instinct was to file a complaint“. The former player of Marseille and Lyon had also recalled that this affair had cost him his place in the France team, he who had at the time 52 selections with the Blues.

Karim Benzema, he stayed away from the French selection for more than five years before making a surprise return before Euro-2021. This conviction should not, however, remove him from the Blues. Two weeks ago, the boss of the French Football Federation, Noël Le Graët, explained that the 33-year-old striker “would not be excluded ” of the selection in case of “judicial sanction“. Asked about this question in early October, coach Didier Deschamps remained elusive, repeating that he was”sports choices“when summoning his players.

As for Real Madrid, it seems very unlikely that they will sanction one of their best players, whom they have always supported in this matter. During the hearing, his lawyers pleaded for acquittal, arguing in particular that “the intentional element of the offense“which he was accused of was not characterized.

(With AFP)