After being placed under formal investigation for his role in the blackmail of France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex-tape, the French forward was left out of the national team squad and missed Real Madrid’s loss to Sevilla. It is uncertain if he will play in just under two weeks’ time against Barcelona in El Clasico.
Attempted blackmail carries a mazimum five-year prison sentence in France.
June 2015
Valbuena lodges a complaint with French police after being telephoned by an unknown person who said he had the sex tape in his possession.
October 6
French radio station Europe 1 released selected transcriptions of what is allegedly a 20-minute phone call between Benzema and his childhood friend, Karim Zenati, set to have taken place on October 6.
At the time Benzema and Valbuena were training together with the national team.
In that phone call Benzema recounts to his childhood friend a conversation he had with Valbuena in which he allegedly tried to convince the Lyon midfielder that he had seen the video.
“If you want the video to be destroyed, my friend will go and see you in Lyon,” Benzema claimed to have told Valbuena.
He then explained to Zenati, "I don't think he's taking us seriously".
“I told him: 'I can help you out. You have to see this guy. You have my word that there are no more copies'”
"But can you see my tattoos in the video?” Valbuena asked Benzema.
"You can see everything," replied the Real Madrid man, who told Valbuena that he had seen the video "a week before joining up with France".
"You can do whatever you want. Ok, If you don't want to pay, it's your life but I have warned you," said Benzema.
Benzema’s lawyer criticized the release of selected evidence and said he was outraged that they had broadcast passages of the conversation that could be misinterpreted.
October 9
Benzema scores twice for France, his 9th goal in 11 matches for club and country this season, in a 4-0 win over Armenia but picks up a thigh injury.
October 13
Former Liverpool and France striker Djibril Cisse is questioned by police in relation to the blackmail attempt. He is released without charge.
"I have nothing to do with it, Mathieu is a friend of mine,” Cisse told host Cyril Hanouna.
“I just warned him that there was something hot going on involving him. That’s it. End of story.
"Frankly, it's not funny. It's something that could have been very bad for me and for him.”
Cisse added that he was only taken in for questioning so that the police could "hear my side of the story".
November 4
Benzema is brought into a police station in Versailles for questioning where he remained overnight.
L’Equipe reports that police are attempting to establish whether the conversation between Benzema and Valbuena was friendly advice or part of the plot.
November 5
Benzema is placed under formal investigation by French authorities, he’s also placed under judicial supervision which means he cannot meet Valbuena. He is however allowed to return to Madrid for now.
Benzema confirms to investigators that he approached Valbuena about the tape on behalf of a childhood friend, but insists he did not think he was harming Valbuena.
Police confirm that the three alleged blackmailers, who had possession of the tape, are all in custody and they had first tried to contact a friend of Benzema’s brother.
[WARNING: Video, uploaded to Karim Benzema's official Instagram account, contains graphic language]
Those three in custody are said to be in the “entourage” of several footballers.
Meanwhile, Le Point reports that an individual who is accused by police of trafficking 700kgs of Cocaine by having paid for and sponsored flights from France to the Dominican Republic and Ecuador was initially found because of his links with the Real Madrid striker. The scandal is dubbed ‘Air Cocaine’ by the French media.
Another suspect in the case, Ali Bouchareb, was arrested in 2014 and during a raid on his house police found several photos of Bouchareb and Benzema together as well as autographed boots worn by Benzema.
November 6
Valbuena updates his profile picture on his official Facebook page with an image of him and Benzema together in training from 2014.
Meanwhile Real Madrid release a statement asserting they believe Benzema is “completely innocent”.
Benzema’s lawyer tells reporters, “He played no part, I repeat no part, in any blackmail or attempted blackmail.”
November 10
Valbuena’s lawyer insists his client feels no animosity towards Benzema.
"There was no animosity before and there still is none," said Didier Domat.
"One cannot remain indifferent to what one sees in the press. Certainly if we discover that all this is true, he [Valbuena] will not be his friend.
"We will not make assumptions until we have studied the case."
