KARIM BENZEMA RUMORS

It’s official: Karim Benzema must watch from afar, as his France teammates attempt to win the 2016 UEFA European Championship on home soil. France’s Football Federation announced on its website Tuesday that Benzema’s national-team ban will remain in effect at least through Euro 2016, according to The Associated Press. “(President) Noel Graet and (France coach) Didier Deschamps...

The French football federation says Karim Benzema will not play for the national team at this year's European Championship.Benzema is facing preliminary charges of conspiracy to blackmail relating to an extortion scam over a sex tape involving France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.Benzema was suspended indefinitely in December pending the ongoing case, and the FFF says in a statement...

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema is still under investigation for a part he made have played in blackmailing French teammate Mathieu Valbuena, but he now will have the ability, legally, to play for France at the European championships this summer. Benzema was previously not allowed to have any contact with Valbuena, meaning they couldn’t be in the same squad, but a French appeals...

PARIS --A French appeals court has lifted the order preventing Karim Benzema from meeting with Mathieu Valbuena, bringing the Real Madrid striker closer to being cleared to play on France's national team.Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, described Friday's decision as ''a first step.'' Benzema, who is currently sidelined with an injury, is facing preliminary charges of conspiracy...

PARIS — Karim Benzema was indefinitely suspended from the French national team on Thursday because of his involvement in an ongoing blackmail case, throwing his international career into doubt. The Real Madrid striker has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail relating to an extortion scam over a sex tape involving France teammate Mathieu Valbuena. “I have decided that he...

Karim Benzema is one of the best strikers in France, but the Real Madrid star won’t be suiting up for Les Bleus anytime soon. Benzema is facing criminal charges stemming from an alleged plot to extort French teammate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape. With that, French football president Noël Le Graët has decided to suspend Benzema until the case is resolved. From The Guardian...

PARIS --Speaking publicly for the first time since becoming embroiled in a blackmail scandal, France striker Karim Benzema hit back at detractors in an emotional television interview on Wednesday, saying he has been ''dragged through the mud'' and treated ''like a scumbag'' after being held in custody.Benzema has been charged with conspiracy to blackmail, relating to an extortion...

An alleged conversation between Karim Benzema and Karim Zenati has been released relating to the sex-tape plot involving Mathieu Valbuena.An alleged copy of a telephone call involving Karim Benzema has been released, in which the Real Madrid striker reportedly tells Mathieu Valbuena "if you want the sex tape to be destroyed, come see my friend in Lyon." Benzema was charged by a court...

Real Madrid star Karim Benzema has been formally charged in France with extortion reports say. Benzema turned himself in Wednesday and was charged earlier today in an extortion case revolving around Benzema’s French national team teammate Martin Valbuena. Investigators claim that Benzema played a role in trying to blackmail Valbuena in exchange for not releasing a sex tape with...

PARIS — Five years after missing the World Cup amid his involvement in a prostitution probe, Karim Benzema was charged Thursday with conspiracy to blackmail as part of an investigation over a sex tape involving France teammate Mathieu Valbuena. Benzema, widely considered one of the most talented strikers in the world, also faced preliminary charges of participating in a criminal...