FFF president: Benzema can play for France once legal proceedings end
Karim Benzema will have the opportunity to once again play for France once his blackmail case runs through the legal process, the president of the French Football Federation (FFF) said Sunday.
Authorities arrested Benzema and questioned the Real Madrid forward before formally charging him for "complicity in a blackmail attempt" last November. Benzema, who has denied any wrongdoing, was allegedly involved in a plot to extort former international teammate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.
The FFF suspended Benzema indefinitely last December, and France manager Didier Deschamps decided to leave him out of the squad for Euro 2016.
"I am against lifetime punishments. Benzema needs to go through the courts, we won't take a risk, whatever it might be," FFF president Noel Le Graet told L'Equipe, according to Reuters. "He already missed the Euros, that's something.
"The problem hasn't been raised for the moment, but he's available for selection.
"The day when justice will be done, only then will Didier decide whether to integrate him or not."
Benzema's court date has not yet been scheduled.
He initially accused Deschamps of bowing to "the pressure of a racist part of France," after the former Marseille boss omitted the player from his Euro 2016 plans.
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But the FFF frowned upon the insinuation that race had anything to do with the situation, which sparked a controversy in Benzema's homeland.
"In sporting terms, I do not understand why," said the 28-year-old. "At the judicial level, I have not been judged. I am not guilty so we have to wait to see what the justice says."
Instead, Le Graet insisted Benzema posed too much of a risk to team harmony before such a high-stakes tournament. The pressure to win the Euros on home soil didn't appear to hamper Les Bleus, but they lost a disappointing final to Portugal in extra time.
France begins its World Cup qualifying campaign in Belarus on Tuesday.