France striker Karim Benzema “will not be excluded” from selection for the national team if a guilty verdict is delivered against him in an ongoing s3x tape trial, according to French football federation president Noel Le Graet.
According to the reports, Le Graet said any decision on who is selected for national duty would remain the decision of coach Didier Deschamps.
Benzema was excluded from the France squad for five years until being recalled last May after he was accused of involvement in the blackmail of fellow player Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.
A verdict in the trial will be announced on November 24.
Le Great said “The coach will always be the man who chooses the side and Benzema will not be excluded in the case of a guilty verdict,”.
He further maintained that he can only be excluded on performance basis not on morality.
“It’s up to Didier (Deschamps) to decide on a sporting basis.”, he added.
The prosecution have demanded a 10-month suspended sentence for Benzema but his lawyers have claimed the prosecution failed to provide evidence to convict the star of complicity to blackmail.
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