Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema will face trial for his alleged involvement in blackmailing former France teammate Matthieu Valbuena in a “sex tape” scandal, the Versailles prosecutor’s office said Thursday.
Benzema is suspected of having pressured his former national team teammate to pay blackmailers who threatened to reveal an intimate video in which Valbuena featured. He will stand trial on the charge of conspiracy to attempt blackmail, the prosecutor’s office said in a message to The Associated Press. A date for the trial has yet to be set.
The 33-year-old Benzema, the most talented French forward of his generation, has been banned from the national team since November 2015 because of his suspected involvement in the scandal, despite consistent showings with Real Madrid.