Euro 2016: Karim Benzema accuses France coach Didier Deschamps of 'bowing to racist pressure'

The Real Madrid striker will not play a part at this summer's tournament in France after being left out of the host nation's squad

Benzema and Deschamps, pictured during the 2014 World Cup in Brazil (Getty)

Karim Benzema has claimed that Didier Deschamps, the France head coach, gave into 'pressure from a racist part of France’ by omitting him from his squad for this summer’s European Championships.

The 28-year-old, who is of Algerian descent, was suspended by the French Football Federation (FFF) in December after he was questioned by police in connection to an alleged blackmail attempt against international team-mate Mathieu Valbuena.

Benzema, who helped Real Madrid earn a penalty shoot-out victory over neighbours Atletico Madrid in this season’s Champions League final on Saturday, asked to be reconsidered for selection in April but was subsequently told that he would play no part the tournament, which will be held in France.

The striker has now claimed that the decision to uphold the suspension may have been influenced by political pressure and been made on the grounds of his ethnicity.

"He [Deschamps] has given in to the pressure of a racist part of France," Benzema said in an interview with Marca, the Spanish daily sports newspaper.

"He has to know that in France the extremist party reached the second round in the last two elections. I do not know, therefore, whether it is a decision only for Didier because I've gotten along with him, with the president, everyone."

Benzema also reiterated his desire to appear for France again and claimed not to understand why he had been ostracised from the national set-up, given that he has not been convicted of any crime.

"In sporting terms, I do not understand why," said the 28-year-old, who remains under formal investigation - one step short of a charge. "At the judicial level, I have not been judged. I am not guilty, so we have to wait to see what the justice says.

"I like football and to play with my team," he added.

Benzema's comments have been dismissed by politicians on both the left and right in France. The country's sports minister, Thierry Braillard, described his remarks as “unjustified and unacceptable” and claimed there is “absolutely no racism” in the FFF.

Benzema's last appearance for France came in October's 4-0 win over Armenia (Getty)

Last week, the former France international Eric Cantona made similar allegations against Deschamps by suggesting that Benzema and Hatem Ben Arfa, the Nice playmaker, may have been excluded from France’s squad because of their north African ethnicity. Deschamps has since announced his intention to sue Cantona over the remarks.

France's 23-man squad for this summer's tournament includes 13 players of African, North African, Caribbean or Indian Ocean origin, including Adil Rami, a defender of Moroccan origin who was called up to the squad following Raphael Varane's injury.

Current polling for France’s next presidential election in 2017 shows Marine Le Pen, president of the far-right Front National party, in second place behind candidates from the centre-right UMP.