Judgment on attempted blackmail against Valbuena opens

The trial on the attempted blackmail suffered by French player Mathieu Valbuena with a video of a sexual nature began this Wednesday, in France, without the most famous accused, Real Madrid star Karim Benzema.

Unlike the center forward, Valbuena appeared at the court at Versailles, southwest of Paris.

Lawyer Antoine Vey explained that the player’s absence, who could be sentenced to up to five years in prison and a fine of 70,000 euros (BRL 448,000), was caused by “professional reasons”, such as the preparation for the classic of Sunday against Barcelona.

“For five years, (Benzema) has been saying that he wants a confrontation with my client. I hope the court will take consequences,” said the plaintiff’s lawyer, Paul-Albert Iweins.

The 33-year-old attacker will be tried for three days for complicity in an attempted blackmail, along with four other defendants.

During the process, the defense asked, in vain, for a confrontation between the players, considering that the interpretation of what happened is divergent. Benzema claims he gave “friend advice” to Valbuena, who felt pressured.

On October 6, 2015, Benzema went to Valbuena’s room at the French national team concentration, at the Clairefontaine training center, 40 kilometers from Paris.

Benzema told his teammate that he could bring in “someone he trusts” to help “manage” the possible release of a compromising video, according to case documents consulted by the AFP.

“Careful Math. They’re big, big bad guys,” said the Real Madrid player, in what he later declared was a way to help his colleague. Valbuena said he had the impression that he was being blackmailed.

Benzema never spoke about money, but the person he recommended was his childhood friend Karim Zenati, with whom the alleged blackmailers had contacted to pressure the midfielder.

The two men at the beginning of the plot are Axel Angot and Mustapha Zouaoui, who had access to the intimate video and were trying to take advantage of it.

To put pressure on Valbuena, they first sought out former French player Djibril Cissé, who refused to put the two in contact with the midfielder and alerted his colleague to the existence of the video.

“At first, I didn’t believe it, I thought it was a mistake,” said this Wednesday Valbuena, who considered himself in “danger” and said “he was afraid for his sporting career if the video was released.”

With Cissé’s refusal, the blackmailers sought out Younes Houass, who contacted the whistleblower, before talking to “Luka”, an incognito policeman.

The talks came to nothing and, for the defense, the fact that “Luka” went to Houass on several occasions represents an incitement to criminal offense, an argument rejected by the French Court of Cassation.

In court, Houass assured that he had not asked Valbuena for money, who, in his opinion, “did not seem to understand” the gravity of the situation and whom he advised to look for “a trusted man” to administer the case.

“Stop pretending you were Mother Teresa. You were interested in the money,” court president Christophe Morvan said. “I am not Mother Teresa,” replied the accused.

Angot, Zouaoui, Houass and Zenati are tried for attempted blackmail, along with Benzema, who in turn is accused of complicity. The Real Madrid player is in fact the last to enter the scene in this plot.

The consequences of the scandal went beyond justice. The two main protagonists were no longer called up for the French national team, until the unexpected return of Benzema on the eve of the 2021 Euro Cup.