Karim Benzema will 'respect' the French Football Federation's decision to ban him
Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has accepted the French Football Federation’s decision to ban him from selection. The Frenchman was banned following his involvement in the blackmail scandal with France teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Benzema has been charged with participating in a criminal conspirancy and being complicit in an attempt to blackmail Mathieu Valbuena. Following the FFF’s decision to ban him, Benzema took to Twitter to express his acceptance of the FFF’s decision, saying “I respect the decision and have confidence in our [FFF] president Noël Le Graët.”
The forward had previously expressed his desire to be a part of Didier Deschamp’s sqaud for the 2016 European Championships in France. However, with the striker banned until March, his chances for making the tournament are bleak at best. Since Benzema and teammate Valbuena are involved in opposite sides of a criminal case, the judge has barred them from meeting each other.
Benzema has been vilified in the French press and has found support hard to come by, with even French Prime Minister Manuel Valls calling for him to be banned stating that the stiker had ‘no place in the French National Team’.
Support from Real Madrid
Real Madrid have offered support to their beleaguered striker, expressing their accordance with the French Football Federation’s decision.
In a statement released to the press, the club said, “Real Madrid C. F. regrets, but respects the decision taken today by the French Football Federation to provisionally suspend Karim Benzema from the France national team, and wishes to reiterate once more its support for and confidence in the player.”
Benzema has found support from multiple sources within the club, with manager Rafa Benitez and club legend Zinedine Zidane offering their words of support. The consensus within the club is that Benzema is a ‘great guy' but has been caught up in events due to his association with people who are a ‘bad influence’ on him.
Despite his troubles off the pitch, Benzema has been in good form recently. The striker scored a hat-trick as Real Madrid romped to a 8-0 win against Malmo in the Champions League. The player is vital to their current style of play & thus might have escaped a similar reprimand as that of the FFF from his club.