PARIS—France and Real Madrid forward Karim Benzema has dropped his appeal against a conviction for complicity in blackmail in a sex-tape case that rocked French soccer, his lawyer said Saturday.
The Versailles court gave Benzema a one-year suspended jail sentence and a fine of 75,000 euros ($80,000) in last year’s trial, convicting him of involvement in an attempt to blackmail France teammate Mathieu Valbuena in 2015. Benzema was also ordered to pay Valbuena 80,000 euros in damages.
The initial scandal put Benzema’s international career on hold for more than five years, though he has since returned to playing for France, and the conviction has not kept him off the field. He claimed the Champions League trophy with Real Madrid last week and scored France’s only goal in a 2–1 Nations League loss to Denmark on Friday night….