Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane says France can’t afford to deny Karim Benzema to feature for his country at the European Championships this summer.
France are the hosts of the tournament but Benzema has been banned from selection for Les Bleus because on an ongoing blackmail case he is involved in.
In the autumn of last year it emerged that the 27-year-old striker, who joined Los Blancos from Lyon in 2009, was involved in a an attempt to extort money from international team mate Matieu Valbuena to get rid of a sex tape the midfielder featured in.
Benzema was initially dropped from the squad for friendlies against Germany and England in November but the French FA has since said it will not pick him until the case of over one way or another.
According to Zidane though, if the 1998 World Cup winners have any hope of progressing far into the tournament, they should not consider denying Benzema the chance to play.
Speaking to Le Foot, the Real boss said: “France cannot afford to ignore a player of Benzema’s calibre. When we look at his numbers and everything he does on the field, we cannot let a play of this level go.”
