After 6 years of waiting, the trial of this case which is shaking French football opened Wednesday morning in Versailles, in the absence of the main defendant. Star striker of Real Madrid, candidate declared for the Golden Ball in the wake of his performances with the Blues he found in the spring, Benzema, 33, is on trial with four co-defendants, accused of being the actors of this attempt to blackmail the erotic video. His lawyer, Antoine Vey, explained his absence for professional reasons ": the player, who theoretically incurs 5 years in prison and a 700 euros fine, played a Champions League match in Ukraine on Tuesday evening and must prepare for the "Clasico" against FC Barcelona on Sunday
“The only thing we see is that Mr. Benzema, for his part, is not there. And we deplore it ”declared Me Paul-Albert Weins, Mathieu Valbuena's lawyer, who at his side adds: I see that everyone is there, almost, that is to say that Karim is missing ( Benzema). It's a shame, but that's how it is. We are going all the way, we have been waiting for this case for six years, whether it is behind me, and we are there as long as it takes, so that it is all behind me. "For five years, (Benzema) has been proclaiming that he wants a confrontation with my client, I hope that the court will draw the consequences", added Me Paul-Albert Iweins.
At the bar Wednesday morning, wearing gray pants and a black shirt, Mathieu Valbuena recalled the chronology of events since he learned of the existence in 2015 of an intimate video featuring him and the attempt of blackmail from his former teammate.
He spoke of his exchanges with Djibril Cissé, of his fear of no longer being called in Blue, and of the exchange with Younes Houass, considered to be the “blackmailer”: “There was never any question of a sum of 'money, but there was a threat with people telling me they have something on me.
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