France and Real Madrid’s frontman Karim Benzema has been found guilty of conspiring to blackmail his fellow French teammate, Mathieu Valbuena with an alleged sex tape.
The scandal stunned the football world with both players losing their right to play for the national team. However, Benzema returned to the French team for the Euro 2020 upon insistence from coach Didier Deschamps.
During the 6 years after the scandal came to limelight, Benzema and Valbuena continued to play for their clubs i.e. Real Madrid and Olympiakos respectively.
Karim Benzema Receives Suspended Sentence
The court slammed Karim Benzema with a suspended sentence of 1 year and ordered a fine of 75,000 Euro. A suspended sentence means that the jail term is essentially stopped and the guilty will not be locked up right away. Instead, the guilty have to perform community service or pay for the court costs.
According to reports, neither Benzema nor Valbuena was present at the court for hearing the verdict.
What Happened between the Two Footballers?
The case first came to the surface in June 2015, when Karim Benzema and Valbuena were at a French training camp. According to reports, Benzema used to pressurize Valbuena to pay off the blackmailers who allegedly had Valbuena’s sex tape. The Valbuena accused Benzema of conspiring the entire thing with blackmailers and acting as a middle man to extort money from him
Benzema has always denied the allegations and insisted he was only trying to help his teammate get rid of the questionable video. It took 5 years for the trials to begin since the controversy started.
