PARIS: Franc and Real Madrid centre-forward Karim Benzema must wait until November 24 for verdicts in the trial over the ‘sextape’ blackmail of former Bleus team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

The trial opened on Wednesday in the Versailles Criminal Court.

Benzema and four other men are accused of trying in 2015 to blackmail Valbuena who now plays for the Greek club OIympiakos. They allegedly demanded he pay money so as not to publish a personal video of a sexual nature.

Benzema, who played for Lyon before joining Real Madrid, was said by the prosecution to have tried to persuade Valbuena, during a national team training camp in Clairefontaine, to pay money to Karim Zenati, one of his friends from childhood.

The prosecution has demanded a 10-month suspended prison sentence against Benzema.

Prosecutor Ségolène Marés said: “Benzema is not a good Samaritan who came to help, he acted to allow the negotiators to achieve their ends and the blackmailers to obtain money.”

Benzema’s lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, responded that the prosecution wanted him to “pay for being a star”.

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