Benzema should not play for France, says Prime minister

Published 12/01/2015, 10:03 AM EST

PARIS, (Reuters) – Karim Benzema, who is under investigation for alleged blackmailing, should not be called up to the France squad, French Prime minister Manuel Valls said on Tuesday.

“If a minister was under formal investigation, they would not be in the government. In a way, it’s the same for the France team,”, Valls told Europe 1 radio.

Real Madrid striker Benzema was put under formal judicial investigation last month in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail Olympique Lyonnais forward Valbuena with the use of a sex video.

Both players were omitted by coach Didier Deschamps when he picked his squad for friendlies against Germany and England last month.

Benzema has been forbidden by a prosecutor to be in contact with the people linked to the investigation.

(Reporting by Julien Pretot. Editing by Patrick Johnston)

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Dhruv George is a senior Formula One and NASCAR analyst for EssentiallySports, having authored nearly 12000 articles spanning different sports like F1, NASCAR, Tennis, NFL, and eSports. He graduated with a PG Diploma in Journalism from the Xavier Institute of Communications. Dhruv has also conducted interviews with F1 driver Pierre Gasly and Moto2 rider Tony Arbolino.