Sports Briefs
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KARIM Benzema, French footballer and Real Madrid striker, appears to have been cleared of his complicity in the blackmail case involving another footballer over a sex-tape.
Real Madrid, his football club, on Thursday, November 5, issued a statement supporting Benzema after he was placed under formal judicial investigation in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail a fellow footballer over a sex-tape.
The club’s statement said in part: “The Real Madrid president, Florentino Pérez, held a meeting with the player in which he gave him his full support and expressed his confidence that his actions were in good faith and that he is completely innocent.
“The club values and recognises the professional commitment, the displays of camaraderie with his team-mates and the impeccable attitude he has shown as a core member of the first-team squad for the more than six seasons that he has been a part of Real Madrid.”
Benzema arrived back in Madrid, Spanish capital, on Thursday evening smiling and waving at the cameras at 5.10pm in Valdebebas, where the club’s training ground known as Real Madrid City, is situated. His lawyer had earlier insisted that Benzema was innocent and took no part in any blackmail. “He played no part, I repeat no part, in any blackmail or attempted blackmail,” Sylvain Cormier said.
The footballer had on Tuesday appeared before a judge in France. The Real Madrid striker admitted involvement in the alleged extortion case, telling investigators he approached the fellow footballer about the tape on behalf of “a childhood friend” but claimed he did not think he was harming the other player.
Investigators in France are expected to determine whether Benzema played a role in the alleged extortion attempt against Mathieu Valbuena, a footballer, who plays for France and Lyon, over the sex tape.
When a suspect is placed under formal investigation, he or she is then examined by a judge, who determines whether there is sufficient evidence for the suspect to be charged.
If formal charges do follow, Benzema could face a minimum jail sentence of five years, the prosecutor said.
Meanwhile, the court has banned the striker from contacting Valbuena, his French team-mate, or any other people charged in the case.
Both Benzema and Valbuena were left out of the national squad for the games with Germany and England later this month in the wake of the case.
Didier Deschamps, coach of the French national team, said Valbuena was not in the right emotional state to play.
— Nov 16, 2015 @ 01:00 GMT
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