This Wednesday, November 24, the French justice system determined, after five years, that Real Madrid star Karim Benzema is guilty of complicity in the attempt to blackmail his former teammate in the French national team, Mathieu Valbuena, with a sexually explicit video.
As a sporting punishment, Benzema was excluded from the French national team for almost six years and returned in 2021 for the European Championship. Now, as a criminal responsibility, the forward was sentenced to one year of preventive detention, which he will have to serve in case of recidivism, and to pay a fine of 75,000 euros.
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The 'Cat' "personally and insistently tried to convince Mathieu Valbuena to meet with his trusted man," said the president of the Versailles Court when reading the verdict, according to local media. This action was considered a deliberate intervention so that the current player for Greek club Olympiakos pays for the audiovisual material.
The penalty issued by the aforementioned court was greater than that requested by the Prosecutor's Office, which asked for only 10 months without the need to go to prison; it ended up being one year. Authorities argued that the severity of the sentence corresponds to the accused's influence on society, so he must have an exemplary attitude.
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Antoin Vey, the lawyer of the Ballon d'Or candidate, expressed surprise at his client's conviction and assured that they will appeal the ruling. "The court clearly stated that Benzema was not aware of the preliminary maneuvers. We are quite astonished by this sentence. The appeal is necessary," he said as he left the courthouse.
Similar to what happened during the three days of trial last October, Karim Benzema was not present in Versailles. His defense claimed that this absence was due to "professional reasons" and that the player will "come to explain himself" in a new trial if his schedule allows it.
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The other four defendants received different sentences. Mustapha Zouaoui, identified as the mastermind behind the blackmail, received the harshest sentence: 30 months in prison and a 3,000 euro fine.
Axel Angot, who obtained the video in question, was sentenced to two years in prison, although he may be given the option not to enter a correctional facility if the competent authorities decide so. Younes Houass and Karim Zenati were sentenced to 18 and 15 months of prison, respectively, but exempt from serving the sentences.