Prosecutors said Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema will face trial in October for allegedly blackmailing former French teammate Mathieu Valbuena through a sex tape.
The Versailles Procurators said the French man will be tried from October 20 to 22 on charges of conspiracy to blackmail.
He will be standing alongside four other people during the trial.
The Real Madrid striker was accused of exerting pressure on Valbuena in 2015, urging him to pay off blackmailers who were on his neck, threatening to release a sex tape which had Valbuena in it.
Due to the scandal, in November of 2015, Benzema was barred from entering the national team on suspicion of being involved in the issue.
Investigators accusing Benzema believe that a childhood friend contacted him that year to act as an intermediary and persuaded Valbuena to deal directly with the blackmailers. Instead, Valbuena went straight to the police.
When the story broke, Benzema faced huge criticism and then Prime Minister Manuel Valls said he had “no place” in the national team.
When the story got exposed to the media, a lot of his fans and and colleagues criticized him for such, and then the Prime Minister Manuel Valls stated that he had “no place” in the national team.
Benzema, who is of Algerian descent, appeared 81 times for France and scored 27 goals before he was kicked out of the national team.
The Real Madrid star, appeared 81 times for France and scored 27 goals before his rather shameful exit.
