French court removes judicial control imposed on Benzema

TIL Desk Sports/ A French court has lifted the judicial control that had been imposed on star footballer Karim Benzema for his alleged involvement in a sex tape blackmail case, his lawyer said on Wednesday.

Sylvain Cormier told that his client was very satisfied with the decision because this means that Benzema can return to a normal life, adding that they are waiting for his innocence to be recognised.

The judicial control was ordered against Benzema in November 2015, after the Real Madrid player was charged with complicity in attempted blackmail with a sex tape of his France teammate, Mathieu Valbuena.

That order included banning Benzema from contacting his childhood friend Karim Zenati, who is also charged in the same case. In March 2016, the court of appeal of Versailles partially lifted that measure and decided that Benzema could again have contact with Valbuena, but kept the veto on meeting the other defendants.

However, the current decision, according to French media, overrides all limitations. The case was handled by the court of Versailles, but the Supreme Court redirected it on July 11 to the court of Paris, which will have to re-examine it.