Karim Benzema in 2015 tried to blackmail France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema, who in 2015 tried to blackmail a teammate with a sex tape, received a 1-year suspended jail sentence Wednesday for the scandal. Benzema,33, was also fined 75,000 euros ($84,000) and must also pay 30,000 euros ($89,700) in damages to France teammate Mathieu Valbuena, The Associated Press reports. Benzema was charged with complicity in attempting to blackmail Valbuena regarding a sex tape that was believed to have been stolen from the latter’s phone. Benzema, who was in Madrid’s squad Wednesday for the team’s Champions League group-stage game, has denied wrongdoing and was not present last month at the Versailles trial. “He was absent from the trial for professional reasons, the fact that he was absent had an influence in the judgment.
