<p>Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has dropped an appeal against a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in a bid to blackmail former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, his lawyer said Saturday.</p>.<p>Benzema was sentenced in November 2021 and fined $82,000 over the 2015 extortion attempt that shocked French football and saw him exiled from the French national team for five-and-a-half years.</p>.<p>The Real Madrid star has finally dropped his appeal, his lawyer Hugues Vigier told AFP, confirming a report on the Actu78 website.</p>.<p>The Versailles court of appeal will notify the parties of the withdrawal order on Tuesday.</p>.<p>Vigier previously told French sports daily L'Equipe Benzema he did so because he was "exhausted" by the process.</p>.<p>"This withdrawal endorses a ruling of condemnation and apparently of guilt. It is a judicial truth. But it is not reality," he said.</p>.<p><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/french-footballer-karim-benzema-gets-one-year-suspended-jail-term-1054055.html" target="_blank">French footballer Karim Benzema gets one-year suspended jail term</a></strong></p>.<p>Scrapping the appeal makes definitive the November ruling against him.</p>.<p>Benzema was one of five people tried over the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to blackmail Valbuena with a sexually explicit video stolen from his phone.</p>.<p>He was not accused of being behind the extortion attempt but rather of conspiring with the suspected blackmailers by putting pressure on Valbuena to pay them off.</p>.<p>The 34-year-old footballer had been set to appeal on June 30-July 1 at the court in Versailles, outside Paris. His former lawyer, Antoine Vey, had said Benzema would explain himself in person at the appeal trial.</p>.<p>In its November judgment, the Versailles criminal court ruled that Benzema had "implicated himself personally, through subterfuge and lies, to convince his teammate to submit to the blackmail".</p>.<p>It added he had shown "no kindness towards Valbuena", as he had claimed, but "just the opposite" and had even appeared to take pleasure in his fellow player's plight.</p>.<p>The affair rocked the French national team and led to the Madrid star being cast out of the side for five-and-a-half years before making a surprise return to "Les Bleus" in 2021 in time for the European championship.</p>.<p>Benzema, who has always maintained his innocence, has on several occasions expressed his desire to turn the page on the affair as soon as possible.</p>.<p>News of the star striker's announcement that he was dropping his appeal came just hours after he scored a brilliant opening goal in France's UEFA Nations League clash against Denmark in Paris.</p>.<p>The Danes, however, recovered to win 2-1 after substitute Andreas Cornelius scored twice.</p>.<p>Benzema is a favourite for the Ballon d'Or after helping Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final in Paris last weekend.</p>
<p>Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has dropped an appeal against a one-year suspended sentence for complicity in a bid to blackmail former France teammate Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape, his lawyer said Saturday.</p>.<p>Benzema was sentenced in November 2021 and fined $82,000 over the 2015 extortion attempt that shocked French football and saw him exiled from the French national team for five-and-a-half years.</p>.<p>The Real Madrid star has finally dropped his appeal, his lawyer Hugues Vigier told AFP, confirming a report on the Actu78 website.</p>.<p>The Versailles court of appeal will notify the parties of the withdrawal order on Tuesday.</p>.<p>Vigier previously told French sports daily L'Equipe Benzema he did so because he was "exhausted" by the process.</p>.<p>"This withdrawal endorses a ruling of condemnation and apparently of guilt. It is a judicial truth. But it is not reality," he said.</p>.<p><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/sports/football/french-footballer-karim-benzema-gets-one-year-suspended-jail-term-1054055.html" target="_blank">French footballer Karim Benzema gets one-year suspended jail term</a></strong></p>.<p>Scrapping the appeal makes definitive the November ruling against him.</p>.<p>Benzema was one of five people tried over the ultimately unsuccessful attempt to blackmail Valbuena with a sexually explicit video stolen from his phone.</p>.<p>He was not accused of being behind the extortion attempt but rather of conspiring with the suspected blackmailers by putting pressure on Valbuena to pay them off.</p>.<p>The 34-year-old footballer had been set to appeal on June 30-July 1 at the court in Versailles, outside Paris. His former lawyer, Antoine Vey, had said Benzema would explain himself in person at the appeal trial.</p>.<p>In its November judgment, the Versailles criminal court ruled that Benzema had "implicated himself personally, through subterfuge and lies, to convince his teammate to submit to the blackmail".</p>.<p>It added he had shown "no kindness towards Valbuena", as he had claimed, but "just the opposite" and had even appeared to take pleasure in his fellow player's plight.</p>.<p>The affair rocked the French national team and led to the Madrid star being cast out of the side for five-and-a-half years before making a surprise return to "Les Bleus" in 2021 in time for the European championship.</p>.<p>Benzema, who has always maintained his innocence, has on several occasions expressed his desire to turn the page on the affair as soon as possible.</p>.<p>News of the star striker's announcement that he was dropping his appeal came just hours after he scored a brilliant opening goal in France's UEFA Nations League clash against Denmark in Paris.</p>.<p>The Danes, however, recovered to win 2-1 after substitute Andreas Cornelius scored twice.</p>.<p>Benzema is a favourite for the Ballon d'Or after helping Madrid beat Liverpool 1-0 in the Champions League final in Paris last weekend.</p>