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Football

10th Jun 2016

PIC: Karim Benzema could only watch France’s dramatic opening victory from afar

Suspension ruled the Real Madrid striker out

Ben Kiely

Karim Benzema will play no part in Euro 2016, but he was still supporting les Bleus as they scraped to a last-minute victory over Romania thanks to Dimitri Payet’s stunning strike.

The Real Madrid star was suspended from the national team due to his involvement in a blackmail scam over a sex tape involving Mathieu Valbuena.

Benzema may face up to five years behind bars over the accusations that he encouraged the midfielder to pay the blackmailers.

He recently voiced his disappointment over his exclusion from the squad, while simultaneously taking a swipe at France’s coach, Didier Deschamps claiming he “bowed to the pressure of a racist part of France”.

Despite all this, he’s still fully behind his country at the tournament.

He posted a picture on Instagram to show his support for the French in the tournament, a picture of himself watching their opener against Romania on television and wishing them luck in the caption.

Bonne chance /force??

A photo posted by Karim Benzema (@karimbenzema) on

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