France coach leaves out Mathieu Valbuena amid Karim Benzema extortion case
Didier Deschamps chose to “give him a breather”, saying Lyon winger will not be in the right frame of mind to perform on the pitch
France coach Didier Deschamps left out winger Mathieu Valbuena for friendly matches against Germany and England amid an ongoing police investigation involving international teammate Karim Benzema.
Benzema was charged on Thursday with conspiracy to blackmail and participating in a criminal group as part of an investigation over a sex tape involving Valbuena – a regular in Deschamps’ side.
Benzema was also placed under judicial supervision, meaning he cannot meet with the victim or other people charged in the case.
The best thing is to let the justice system do its job and take the decisions it deems fit
That precluded Deschamps from using both players at the same time, while the investigation goes on.
With Benzema recovering from injury, Deschamps could have picked Valbuena, but said on Thursday that he prefers to “give him a breather” considering the media scrutiny.
France plays Germany next Friday and then England at Wembley on November 17.
Deschamps started his news conference by speaking about the case, carefully measuring his words about Benzema, who has been sidelined since hurting his hamstring against Armenia last month, when he scored twice in a 4-0 win.