The French justice sentenced this Wednesday (24) the striker Karim Benzema, from Real Madrid, to one year in prison, but with suspension of the sentence, as an accomplice in the attempt to blackmail his former teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a video intimate.
“Benzema got involved personally … to convince his teammate to accept the blackmail,” reads the Versailles correctional court ruling, in which the attacker showed “some glee” and “no benevolence” toward Valbuena.
The magistrates set a prison sentence exceeding the ten months requested by the Prosecutor’s Office during the trial in October, but decided on the fine recommended by the Public Ministry: 75 thousand euros (about R$ 468.5 thousand).
After reading the verdict, the lawyers for the 33-year-old attacker, who did not appear at the trial due to professional commitments, announced that they will file an appeal against the sentence, which will leave its application on hold.
Attorney Sylvain Cormier criticized a “very harsh, unfair and unproven penalty.” The defense claimed that the “intentional element” of the offense was not presented.
During the trial, MP’s representatives stated that the star of the French national team had a duty to set an example, as “the bearer of an image, hope, notoriety and moral values.”
Despite the “sextape” scandal having ruled Benzema out of the French national team for five years, until his return on the eve of the 2021 Euro Cup, the conviction seems to have no sporting consequences, just a year away from the World Cup in Qatar.
Two weeks ago, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF), Noël Le Graët, told the newspaper Le Parisien that Benzema would not be excluded from the selection in case of conviction.
It’s the Real Madrid, which is playing this Wednesday a match of the Champions League against Sheriff Tiraspol in Moldova, he always expressed support for the athlete.
Up to 2 and a half years in prison
Against the other four accused of trying to blackmail Valbuena, currently a player for Olympiakos, Greece, the court in Versailles has announced sentences ranging from 18 months in prison with parole to two and a half years in prison with mandatory service.
The case took place on October 6, 2015. During a concentration of the French national team, Benzema went to Valbuena’s room to warn his colleague about the video and say that he could introduce him to “someone trusted to “manage” the situation.
During the trial, the 37-year-old midfielder, who was no longer called up for the national team after the scandal, said he feared for his career, “if the video was released”.
“I felt in danger, my first instinct was to report it,” he said.
The person recommended by Benzema was his friend Karim Zenati, whom the alleged blackmailers contacted to put pressure on Valbuena, after previous attempts had failed.
Axel Angot, who found and preserved the cell phone video the victim had entrusted to him, was sentenced to two years in prison, six months less than Mustapha Zouaoui, considered the “umbilical cord” in the case.
The penalty for Zenati, a childhood friend of Benzema, was 15 months in prison with mandatory compliance. Younes Houass, the first intermediary who came into contact with Valbuena, was sentenced to 18 months in prison with suspended sentence.
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