A statement published by the FFF said: “Didier Deschamps and (president) Noel Le Graet met to discuss the situation of Mr Benzema”.
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“The capacity of the players to strive towards unity, within and around the squad, to be exemplary.are also taken into account”.
Karim Benzema will not be selected for France’s Euro 2016 campaign, the country’s football federation has announced.
Benzema is being investigated over an alleged attempt by one of his friends to extort money from a fellow worldwide, Mathieu Valbuena, over a sex tape.
There are no indications as to whether Benzema will be called back up to the France squad following the tournament this summer, but it looks as if his career with Les Bleus will end having earned 81 caps. The France team means a lot to me, especially a Euros at home. The player was formally put under investigation on 5 November for “complicity in a blackmail attempt” and being part of a “criminal group”. “I will not be selected for our Euro in France”, Benzema said on his Twitter page.
Although legal restrictions that prevented him from coming into contact with Lyon playmaker Valbuena had been lifted, Benzema still needed the FFF to lift his ban from the national team.
The affair has gone right to the top of government in France, with Prime Minister Manuel Valls saying last month that Benzema should not be allowed to return to the France team while he remains at the centre of the investigation.
The post was accompanied by a four-minute video showing a selection of Benzema’s 27 global goals and featuring prominently his selection as captain for last year’s friendly against Brazil.
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FC’s France correspondent Julien Laurens gives his take on Dimitri Payet and Karim Benzema’s standing with Didier Deschamps.
