French soccer star Benzema gets one-year suspended jail term
VERSAILLES, France, Nov 24 (Reuters) - A Court in Versailles on Wednesday found France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema guilty of complicity in the attempted blackmail of former international team mate Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape and sentenced him to a one-year suspended jail term.
He was also fined 75,000 euros ($84,170).
Benzema, who had denied any wrongdoing, was not in court. He is due to play for the Spanish club against Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol later in the day.
Prosecutors had argued that Benzema had encouraged Valbuena to pay a suspected group of blackmailers in order to keep the sexually explicit tape out of the public eye. ($1 = 0.8910 euros) (Reporting by Layli Foroudi; Editing by Richard Lough and Nick Macfie)
