Benzema announced his intention to sue the head of the French Interior Ministry – Kommersant

Football player of the Saudi club Alt-Ittihad Karim Benzema announced his intention to sue the head of the French Ministry of Internal Affairs Gerald Darmanin. On October 15, the football player published a post on the social network X (formerly Twitter) in support of the residents of the Gaza Strip. The next day, Mr. Darmanen accused Benzema of having connections with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood association (recognized as terrorist in Russia).

The player’s agent said Le Parisienthat Karim Benzema is considering filing a claim for libel or public insult, or a complaint regarding a violation of the law on “manipulation of information” (adopted in France in 2018 to combat “fake news” during election campaigns).

According to the footballer’s representative, Karim Benzema has never had anything to do with the Muslim Brotherhood and lives in Saudi Arabia, where the organization is recognized as terrorist. At the same time, the agent clarified, France did not recognize the Muslim Brotherhood as a terrorist organization.

According to Le Parisien, the footballer also intends to file lawsuits against French National Assembly deputy Valérie Boyer, as well as against European Parliament member Nadine Morano and publicist Frank Tapiro.

On October 15, Karim Benzema wrote in X that he was “praying for the people of Gaza who are once again victims of these unjust bombings that spare neither women nor children.”

On October 16, the head of the French Ministry of Internal Affairs, Gerald Darmanin, spoke on CNews about the footballer’s “infamous connections” with the Egyptian Muslim Brotherhood association. According to the minister, for several years, Karim Benzema’s position has been moving “towards a tough, strict Islam, characteristic of the ideology of the Brotherhood, which consists in the spread of Islamic norms in various spheres of society, in particular in sports.”

On October 17, MP Nadine Morano said in an interview with CNews that the football player is a “propaganda agent” of the Palestinian Hamas movement. Frank Tapiro, as reported by Le Parisien, called the football player a “collaborator of terrorism.”

On June 6, 2023, 35-year-old Karim Benzema signed a contract until 2026 with the Saudi club Al-Ittihad. Since 2007, Benzema has played for the French national team. In 2011, 2012, 2014 and 2021 he was recognized as the best football player in France according to France Football magazine. In 2022 he won the Ballon d’Or according to France Football.