Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has now been confirmed guilty of conspiring to blackmail former teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a s€x tape, MySportDab reports.
Benzema has been given a one-year suspended prison sentence and a £63,000 fine by the judge this morning.
The Frenchman was one of five people on trial in Versailles over the 2015 Blackmail attempt over an explicit video stolen from Valbuena’s phone.
Benzema said that he was trying to help his fellow teammate when he was asked about the sex tape at the French team’s training centre in October 2015.
He told Valbuena that he could find someone to ‘manage’ the issue of the video.
When the trial concluded last month, the prosecutors asked that Benzema be given a 10-month suspended sentence and a fine of €75,000.
The maximum sentence Benzema could have gotten was a five-year long time in prison and €90,000 (£75,000) fine.
Benzema’s lawyer said the player would still appeal against the verdict.
Speaking to reporters, one of his lawyers, Sylvain Cormier, said he was ‘shocked’ by the sentence which was severe, and unfair.
The Judge said: ‘Benzema was not aware of the precise events but his chat with Valbuena at Clairfontaine shows that he was involved.
‘The court revealed that he had ‘implicated himself with lies to make his team-mate to submit to the blackmail.’
Benzema denied any wrongdoing and has not been in court throughout the entire proceedings.
He is expected due to play Real Madrid in the Champions League match today against Sheriff Tiraspol.
The court decision will not have any direct effect om Benzema’s sporting future.
The forward is still one of the favourites to win the 2021 Ballon d’Or award scheduled for November 29th in Paris.
More to follow…
