Karim Benzema will have to answer questions from parliamentarians in the National Assembly, as part of the commission of inquiry into failures within the French sports federations.
The National Assembly wants the opinion of Karim Benzema and the French player will not be able to escape the question session prepared for him by the commission of inquiry into failures within the French sports federations. The latter had contacted the Al-Ittihad player for the first time at the beginning of the summer, but the player’s lawyers then told her that their client did not wish to respond because he lived abroad. An excuse which was not enough since this type of summons is not optional and “ any French citizen, even residing abroad, is required to respond under penalty of prosecution“. Karim Benzema will therefore be heard.
And if he was summoned, it is because the former Real Madrid player was identified by the commission as one of the personalities of the sporting world, and of football in particular, potentially “ victim of racist acts“, explained Friday the rapporteur of the commission, Sabrina Sebaihi (NUPES), to the newspaper The Parisian. Karim Benzema could thus have to express his feelings about his famous exclusion from the French team and his words at the time against Didier Deschamps whom he had accused of having “ gave in under pressure from a racist part of France“.
No need to come on site
The media also specified that Laurent Blanc and Patrick Vieira will also be auditioned in the coming days. As for Karim Benzema, he should not necessarily have to travel to France to answer the commission’s questions. The interview may, if the player requests it, take place behind closed doors and remotely, by videoconference.
