By Melody Gross 
Karim Benzema, the French international and Real Madrid player, faces a trial that will begin on Wednesday, in which he could be sentenced to five years in prison and a fine of 75,000 euros.
The Real Madrid striker will have to file a defense in Versailles court, Wednesday, for alleged complicity in the blackmailing of his former teammate, Mathieu Valbuena, in 2015.
The player who is currently going through a good sporting moment, being cited as a Ballon d’Or candidate at the end of November, has seen his image shaken and his ban from the French national team for five years. The athlete missed the 2016 European Nations Championship, where France was in the European Nations Cup final after losing to Portugal, and from the 2018 World Cup, in which the French team won the title.
Amid a busy sports schedule, the player’s lawyers did not confirm his attendance at the hearing. And the player is playing a vital confrontation in the Champions League, where he will face Shakhtar Donetsk, and the derby against Barcelona. “It is clear that he should be released,” said Antoine Faye, Benzema’s lawyer.
The sexual video in which Valbuena is involved is the reason why Karim Benzema is facing justice, and the prosecution indicates his agreement with those who blackmailed the former Marseille athlete and former colleague of Benzema.
Antoine Faye denies there is evidence that could incriminate his client. “There is no material element directly related to Mr. Benzema, except for the very late and non-spontaneous feeling on the part of the complainant (Matteo Valbuena). The referral of Mr. Benzema to the courts is not fully understood. It is clear that he must be released from the chief prosecutors”, he explained.