Karim Benzema will stand trial for his alleged involvement in an attempted blackmail case targeting former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape. (More Football News)
Benzema is suspected of having pressured his former national team teammate to pay blackmailers who threatened to reveal an intimate video in which Valbuena featured
Karim Benzema will stand trial for his alleged involvement in an attempted blackmail case targeting former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape. (More Football News)
Prosecutors in Versailles confirmed the development regarding the Real Madrid striker and four others on Thursday, according to reports in France.
Benzema, who denies any wrongdoing, was charged in 2015 in relation to the incident. He previously appealed against the charge but is now set for trial.
"The decision to take this to trial is absurd and unfair," Sylvain Cormier, his lawyer, told EFE. "Benzema doesn't have anything to be blamed for."
Paul-Albert Iweins, Valbuena's counsel, told L'Equipe the decision was "the logical continuation of the instruction which perfectly established the participation of the various people".
The incident has since seen Benzema exiled from the France national team.