Something odd happened midway through Wednesday’s extra- ordinary night of snakes and ladders.
As France and Portugal jostled between first, second, third and fourth place in Group F, even time seemed unsure of where it stood.
During three additional minutes at the end of the first half in Budapest, Karim Benzema converted from the penalty spot. The clock read: 46:44.
Karim Benzema spent nearly six years exiled from France but his comeback is timely
Then, shortly after the break, he raced on to Paul Pogba’s precise pass and skewed in a second — 2-1, 46:44 gone. A numerical quirk laced with poetic irony.
For nearly six years, time has stood still on Benzema’s international career with France. And then when he finally exorcised the demons of that long exile, the clocks seemed to stop once more. Certainly, everything paused for 90 minutes in Bron, Benzema’s hometown in Lyon’s eastern suburbs.
‘The town organised a Fan Zone, where 900 people came to watch the match,’ says Frederic Rigolet, who coached Benzema as a kid. ‘It was a party to celebrate his return. We couldn’t wait to see him score and when the penalty went in, the crowd chanted his name for several minutes. It was amazing.’
In October, Benzema will stand trial for his alleged role in a blackmail conspiracy involving former France team-mate Mathieu Valbuena. He denies wrongdoing.
He had been overlooked by France for alleged role in blackmail involving Mathieu Valbuena
That date in court could begin the end of a saga which has altered the course of Benzema’s life and hung over French football. For years, a sour taste and unanswered questions lingered as aftershocks rumbled across society at large.
The affair dates back to October 2015. Investigators believe Benzema was approached by a childhood friend over a sex tape involving his team-mate. The forward is accused of pressuring Valbuena to pay blackmailers who were threatening to release the video.
He was arrested and Manuel Valls, France’s then prime minister, wanted him out of the team.
His wish was granted: Benzema was suspended from France duty and overlooked for Euro 2016 and the triumphant 2018 World Cup.
The striker accused Didier Deschamps of ‘bowing to the pressure of a racist part of France’ and soon vandals smeared ‘racist’ on the wall of the France boss’s house. ‘I can never forget that,’ Deschamps said in January. ‘It crossed a line.’
But then everything changed in April. Another private conversation, another round of: who said what? This time it was Deschamps and Benzema who, away from prying ears, treated old wounds.
