The French international footballer Karim Benzema has been taken into police custody as part of an inquiry into an alleged plot to blackmail a fellow international over a sex tape.
Detectives detained the Real Madrid striker for questioning a fortnight after the former France and Liverpool striker Djibril Cisse was interviewed and released as part of the same investigation.
Benzema, 27, was summoned to the police station at Versailles shortly before 9am on Wednesday morning. Afterwards the public prosecutor’s office would only confirm that he was being held for questioning.
The affair centres on the alleged attempted blackmail of an international midfielder with what the French news agency AFP said was a sex tape recorded on a mobile phone.
L’Equipe said investigators wanted to establish whether a conversation between Benzema and the player during a meeting of the French national team at the beginning of October was simply friendly advice or part of the plot.
Three suspects said to be in the “entourage” of several footballers have been officially mis en examen - the French equivalent of being charged - since October.
The police investigation into the alleged blackmail attempt was opened at the end of July. Cisse was interviewed and immediately released from further inquiries.
Cisse protested his innocence on French television, saying he had nothing to do with the case. He later announced his retirement from the game.
Attempted blackmail carries a maximum five-year prison sentence in France.
On Wednesday, Benzema’s lawyer Sylvain Cormier told Le Parisien that the footballer was “ready to answer” any questions. He added that after Benzema’s name appeared in the press linked to the investigation, the player himself informed the investigating judge that he was available for questioning.
“It was therefore completely normal that he should respond to the summons. In fact, he would like to put an end to the controversy sparked by this affair in which he has played no part, as soon as possible,” Cormier said.
Benzema’s name apparently came to the attention of police investigating the alleged blackmail after he mentioned the sex tape during a gathering of the French national team at Clairefontaine before Les Bleus met Armenia and Denmark.
Guardian services
