Senator wants Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema stripped of his Ballon d'Or after bold claims from French minister
French Senator Valerie Boyer has asked for Real Madrid legend Karim Benzema to be stripped of his Ballon d'Or award after recent claims from French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin.
Benzema posted a message on Sunday (15 October) in light of Israel's ongoing conflict with Palestine. He tweeted on X:
"All our prayers go out to the people of Gaza, victims once again of unjust bombings that spare neither women nor children."
In the days following the tweet, Darmanin claimed that Benzema was linked with the Muslim Brotherhood — a religious, political group that France considers a terrorist organization. CNN describes these allegations as 'baseless'.
An excerpt of Darmanin's comments reads, via French TV outlet CNews:
"We have closed 1,100 Islamist establishments. And in recent weeks, I’ve been particularly interested, Mr. Benzema is linked, we all know it, notoriously with the Muslim Brotherhood."
Following the allegations, Boyer, senator for Les Republicains, Bouches-du-Rhone, said, via MARCA:
"If the statements of the Minister of the Interior are true, we must consider sanctions against Karim Benzema. An initially symbolic sanction would be to strip the Ballon d'Or from him. Finally, we must request the loss of nationality."
Benzema was born in Lyon in 1987 to French nationals of Algerian descent. Speaking in June, the 35-year-old explained that religion was a major reason behind his move from Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad. He said, via GOAL:
"Well, because I'm muslim and this is a muslim country, and i have always wanted to live here [reason for Al-Ittihad transfer]."
Benzema scored 37 goals in 97 games for France's national team before retiring from international football in December 2022.
Karim Benzema won the Ballon d'Or last year during his time at Real Madrid
2021-22 was one of Karim Benzema's best seasons in his playing career. He registered 44 goals and 15 assists in 46 games across competitions as Real Madrid won La Liga and the UEFA Champions League.
Barely anyone would have had qualms seeing the slickly-dressed Frenchman walking up to the stage at the Théâtre du Châtelet on 17 October 2022 to collect his award. He was the first player from France to win the award since Zinedine Zidane (1998).
Seconds after winning the award, Benzema said (h/t Sky Sports):
"It makes me really proud. All the work I did, I never gave up. It was a childhood dream like all kids [have]. I had two motivations in my life - Zidane and Ronaldo. I've always had this dream in my mind that anything is possible."
The former Lyon striker is currently plying his trade in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia with Al-Ittihad, where he has three goals and two assists in seven games this term.