Benzema Gets One-year Suspended Jail Term for Blackmail

Benzema Gets One-year Suspended Jail Term for Blackmail

France and Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has been found guilty of conspiring to blackmail a fellow French footballer with a sex tape.

A judge handed Benzema a one-year suspended jail term and ordered him to pay a €75,000 ($84,000) fine.

Benzema, 33, was one of five people put on trial last month over an attempt to extort Frenchman Mathieu Valbuena.

The scandal has stunned the football community in France and both players lost their national team places.

The case dates back to June 2015, when the two footballers were at a French training camp.

At the camp, Benzema put pressure on Valbuena to pay off the blackmailers, whom he had conspired with to act as an intermediary, prosecutors said.

Benzema has always denied the allegations and insisted he was only trying to help Valbuena get rid of the compromising video.

Benzema has since returned to the France team and played for Real Madrid last night when they took on FC Sheriff Tiraspol in the UEFA Champions League.

Benzema was not present in court in Versailles for the verdict, nor was Valbuena, who plays for Greek club Olympiakos.

Since being called back by France manager Didier Deschamps, Benzema has been in prolific form, scoring nine times in 13 games for his country.

He’s also scored 10 goals this season for his club, Real Madrid, who are yet to comment on the verdict.

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