Versailles: The French Court on Wednesday gave Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, a one-year sentence suspended because of involvement in an effort to squeeze former French teammate with sex records.
The sentence was harder than those sought by prosecutors against the 33-year-old player during the 2015 extortion attempts, who led Benzema dumped from the French team for five and a half years.
Benzema was not in court on the outskirts of Paris Versailles for the verdict, which came for hours before Real Madrid took Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League match in Moldova.
The defense team immediately announced plans for appeal.
Speaking to reporters at the courthouse, one of his lawyers, Sylvain Cormier, said he was “quite stunned by the verdict”.
The prosecution has called for Benzema, which is one of five people who demanded an affair that shook the French national team, to be given a 10-month suspended sentence.
Benzema did not attend the trial last month, quoted a professional commitment.
The verdict was not expected to damage his career, with French Football Federation President Noel Le Graet said he could keep his place in Les Bleus even if punished and Real Madrid also still support their star players.
But Benzema’s belief continued to cross his amazing comeback to the national team earlier this year after being absent for years.
Benzema has scored nine times since withdrawn by the French manager Didier Deschamps for the Euro 2020 final – delayed a year due to the Coronavirus pandemic – making him the highest fifth goal scorer in Les Bleus’s history.