(AFP) Karim Benzema on Tuesday filed a complaint for defamation against French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who last year said the former Real Madrid star had “notorious” links with the Muslim Brotherhood.
Darmanin, a tough-talking right-winger with designs on the French presidency, criticised Benzema after the former France striker and 2022 Ballon d’Or winner posted on X (formerly Twitter) in mid-October in support of the inhabitants of Gaza, who, he claimed, were victims of “unjust bombardments” carried out by Israel in retaliation for the bloody Hamas attack of October 7.
Darmanin reacted to Benzema’s post by alleging that the player “has a notorious link with the Muslim Brotherhood,” a Sunni Muslim Islamist group with its origins in Egypt.
