Former Real Madrid forward and current member of the Saudi team Al-Ittihad, Karim Benzema, has come under fire once more from French Interior Minister Gérald Darmanin.
The government has charged Benzema with being associated with the Muslim Brotherhood, a political and religious organization that France views as a terrorist.
Following Benzema’s social media post regarding the violence between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas, Darmanin made his allegations. Benzema “has a notorious link with the Muslim Brotherhood,” according to the minister, but he offered no proof for this assertion.
Hugues Vigier, Karim Benzema’s attorney, has denied these claims, saying that “Karim Benzema has never had the slightest relationship with this organisation”. He went on to say that Benzema was demonstrating “natural compassion” for what many consider to be war crimes occurring in Gaza.
Darmanin hasn’t taken back his claims in spite of Benzema’s legal team’s refutation. He declared that he would only comply if Benzema made a statement regarding the murder of Dominique Bernard by a Chechen terrorist.
This dispute has generated a lot of discussion and interest from many places. Three-time presidential candidate and leading member of the French hard-left Jean-Luc Melenchon has endorsed Benzema despite acknowledging that “I don’t know you and I don’t know anything about football”.