France and Real Madrid striker, Karim Benzema has been found guilty, fined €75,000 and handed a one-year suspended jail term for his role in a sex tape blackmail case.
The Versailles court also ordered him to pay Valbuena 80,000 euros to cover legal costs and 150,000 euros in damages together with his three other co-accused.
They found Benzema guilty of attempting to blackmail fellow France teammate at the time, Mathieu Valbuena with the tape in 2015.
Both players lost their place in the Les Bleus set-up because of the case until recently when Didier Deschamps included the 33-year-old forward in his squad for Euro 2020.
The case started at a training camp where both players were attending. At the camp, Benzema put pressure on Valbuena to pay off the blackmailers, whom he had conspired with to act as an intermediary, prosecutors said.
Benzema has always denied the allegations and insisted he was only trying to help Valbuena get rid of the compromising video. His lawyer, Sylvain Cormier has said he will appeal the case.
Benzema, 33, who has played over 90 times for his country, was recalled to the France squad for this year’s European Championship.
