Soccer star investigated over video blackmail
French Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema was placed under formal judicial investigation yesterday in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail fellow France soccer international Mathieu Valbuena with the use of a sex video. A statement from the Versailles prosecutor said that the alleged crimes for which he was being investigated could carry a prison sentence of at least five years.Benzema's lawyer, Sylvain Cormier, told reporters after a hearing that the football star was innocent and took no part in any blackmail or attempted blackmail.The prosecutor's move - which in France's justice system does not confirm any wrongdoing but does mean investigators have serious grounds for pursuing the matter with him - exposes Benzema to a lengthy period of doubt ahead of the Euro 2016 championship that France hosts next year...
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