Being interviewed by TF1 television, the coach of the French national team and world champion Didier Deschamps was forced to recall the conflict with Karim Benzema.
The 31-year-old Real Madrid striker has not been called up to the French national team since the fall of 2015 after a scandal involving him and Mathieu Valbuena. It was then determined that K. Benzema blackmailed M. Valbuena by threatening to release a recording with intimate details of his life. When the scandal broke out, even the former French Prime Minister Manuel Valls urged that K. Benzema not be called up to the team, as its players must be an example to the entire nation.
D. Deschamps also took a firm stance on this issue, and during the European Championship qualifying matches, he was reminded of this four-year-old incident.
"It's a sporting decision and that's it. I made it not against my will or because I wanted to. The decision not to invite this player was made considering all the interests of the team. That's all," - Deschamps told TF1.
There were also those who sided with K. Benzema and criticized the national team coach.
"Some people accuse me of racism because of this. The problem is that some believe in this 'truth'. These accusations are incomprehensible and unfounded to me," said Deschamps.
The world champions are currently one step away from qualifying for the European Championships. In Group H of the qualifiers, the French have collected 18 points in 7 matches and share 1-2 places with the Turks.
