France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has been handed a one-year suspended jail term for attempted blackmail on former teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
The Real Madrid captain was found guilty of being involved in the attempt in 2015 and was fined Ksh 9,441,600 ( $84,000) by the Versailles court in France on Wednesday.
The sentence is unlikely to affect Benzema’s immediate sporting future.
Former France international Mathieu Valbuena told a court Wednesday he "felt in danger" after being targeted in a blackmail attempt involving a sex tape over which his former teammate, Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema, has gone on trial.
France striker Benzema is accused of complicity in an attempt to extort money from Valbuena over a video that was copied from his smartphone in 2015.
The affair rocked the French national team and led to the 33-year-old Madrid star being cast out of the side for five-and-a-half years before making a surprise comeback this year.
Valbuena, who was also excluded from the team over the row, told the court at the start of the trial Wednesday that he feared for his career when he realised he was being blackmailed.
The forward is regarded as one of the favorites to win the Ballon d’Or award on Nov. 29 in Paris following an impressive season with Madrid. French federation president Noel Le Great has already said Benzema would be allowed to keep playing with France even if found guilty.
Benzema, who denied wrongdoing, didn’t attend the trial in Versailles last month and was absent for the verdict. The four other defendants were also found guilty and did not appear at the court Wednesday. The French international was also fined