After first surfacing in the French press last month thanks to the involvement of former Liverpool striker and France international Djibril Cisse, the story of the attempted blackmail of Olympique Lyonnais and Les Bleus’ star Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape reared its head again last week. This time, instead of Cisse, it was Real Madrid marksman and Valbuena’s French international teammate Karim Benzema who was summoned to Versailles (where the inquiry into the alleged extortion attempt is taking place) for questioning. Unlike Cisse, Benzema’s version of events did not convince the investigators and the 27-year-old has since been charged with conspiracy to blackmail and preliminary charges of participating in a criminal group as well. The latest developments in the story do not reflect well on the former Lyon player either. A transcript of the conversation that he had with a childhood friend appears to incriminate the Frenchman further and could land him in deeper trouble in the near future.  Benzema is now set to appear before an investigating judge on either November 19 or 20. Until then, he can have no contact with Valbuena and obviously this is problematic for France national team coach Didier Deschamps as he cannot call up the pair for international duty at the same time. The 1998 FIFA World Cup and 2000 UEFA European Championship-winning captain is trying to continue preparations with his team for next summer’s Euros on home soil, but he has been deprived of the two players for the upcoming friendlies against Germany and England. Although only an inconvenience at this stage (Benzema would arguably have been left out of the squad anyway because of his recent injury lay-off), the situation has the potential to become more than that if not cleared up soon. France will face the Netherlands and Russia in friendly matches late next March to prepare for Euro 2016, which at that point will be less than three months away. If Benzema and/or Valbuena have to be left out again, the matter will have become disruptive and problematic.  Deschamps will either be forced to choose between two of his star men, or at least be unsure of their eventual availability next summer. Since taking over as coach of Les Bleus, the pair have played important roles in the former Olympique de Marseille tactician’s squads. They are regulars in his preferred starting XI and to lose one for the tournament would be a blow, but to lose both would be disastrous from a strategic point of view. Following France’s historic comeback from 2-0 down after the first leg in Kiev to defeat Ukraine 3-2 on aggregate with a 3-0 win in Paris to reach the 2014 World Cup in Brazil via the playoffs, Valbuena has been near untouchable (as Benzema has been for more or less the entire duration so far). Deschamps has always been convinced of Benzema’s quality, even if the Real man is a mercurial performer at international level, and the former stood by his star man when the striker endured an epic 1,222-minute (over 16 months) goal drought. However, the former AS Monaco and Juventus coach has not always enjoyed a smooth relationship with Valbuena. He was convinced by the player’s attitude and ability when in charge of him at Marseille and then again with France and that is what has earned him a starring role. Benzema, when in form, is the best attacker France have. Valbuena though, merits his place in Deschamps’ strongest starting XI and is the team’s master creator. For this current incarnation of Les Bleus to be without either (particularly Valbuena) is unthinkable to both the French public and the coach himself. 

 Deschamps has tried hard to create a France squad without the sort of controversy that has blighted international campaigns like the 2010 World Cup and Euro 2012. In doing so, talents such as Manchester City’s Samir Nasri, AC Milan’s Jeremy Menez and OGC Nice’s Hatem Ben Arfa have been left out. The tactician has thawed over the latter, now that he has found form and is a reformed character since joining Les Aiglons, but Nasri and Menez have both been overlooked when in impressive form in the past. Even though Deschamps has the volume of talent across most positions that any international coach in the world would envy, losing Benzema or Valbuena still has the potential to derail his ambitions on home soil next summer. Deschamps will be hoping that the situation does not drag on for too long, so that he is not required to completely go back on his stance regarding controversial characters in order to lead the host country to ultimate success