Five years after missing the World Cup amid his involvement in a prostitution inquiry, Karim Benzema was charged Thursday with conspiracy to blackmail as part of an investigation over a sex tape involving Lyon midfielder Mathieu Valbuena, Benzema’s teammate on the French national team.
Benzema, a forward for Real Madrid, also faced preliminary charges of participating in a criminal group. He was freed pending further investigation and faces a maximum sentence of five years, the prosecutor’s office said.