Mathieu Valbuena blackmail case: Karim Benzema should not play for France if he is found guilty, says Prime Minister

Benzema is being investigated by French prosecutors over an alleged blackmail case involving Lyon and France midfielder Mathieu Valbuena

France striker Karim Benzema (Getty Images)

Karim Benzema should be banned from the French national team for life if he is found guilty of blackmailing his international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena, the country’s Prime Minister has declared.

Manuel Valls says that unless Benzema can prove he is of “exemplary” class, then he will have no place in the squad if French prosecutors find he has played a role in the alleged blackmail case of Lyon midfielder Valbuena and his wife involving a sex tape the pair made together.

Speaking to French radio station Europe 1, Valls said: "If a minister was under formal investigation, they would not be in the government. In a way, it's the same for the France team.

“A great athlete should be exemplary... If he [Benzema] is not, he has no place within the France team.”

Benzema was left out of Didier Deschamps squad for France’s last two matches against Germany and England – the former being the match targeted by terrorists at the Stade de France last month.

French Prime Minister Manuel Valls (Getty Images)

Valbuena was also left out of the squad, with prosecutors forbidding Benzema from contacting his international colleague or any others linked with the investigation.