Karim Benzema filed a complaint against Gérald Darmanin, who accuses him of “notorious links” with the Muslim Brotherhood

Karim Benzema filed a complaint against Gérald Darmanin for defamation, franceinfo learned from his lawyer Hugues Vigier on Tuesday January 16, confirming information from RTL. On October 16 on CNews, Gérald Darmanin accused Karim Benzema of having a “notorious link” with the Muslim Brotherhood, a radical Islamist organization born in Egypt.

The minister criticized the former Real Madrid star, who now plays in Saudi Arabia, for posting a message on X (formerly Twitter). In it, the 2022 Ballon d’Or addressed “all [ses] prayers for the inhabitants of Gaza, victims once again of these unjust bombings which spare neither women nor children”without expressing compassion for the Israeli victims of Hamas during the October 7 attack.

“An attack on my honor”

The complaint was filed with the Court of Justice of the Republic, the only court authorized to judge members of the government. In the complaint that franceinfo was able to consult, Karim Benzema denounces the comments of the Minister of the Interior “which obviously harm my honor”. He accuses Gérald Darmanin of “to be criticized for non-existent links” with the Muslim Brotherhood.

This statement by the Minister of the Interior caused an uproar. The left had accused him in particular of exploiting the former striker of the France team. On franceinfo, on Friday October 20, lawyer Hugues Vigier denounced “low politics” after the accusations of Gérald Darmanin, pointing out “an odious blackmail” and pure “electoralism”.