Benzema is hiding something, claims French minister

A conflict between Israel and Hamas is not going to stop anytime soon, just like the conflict between Gerald Darmanin and Karim Benzema. The French minister of interior, a far-right politician and a potential presidential candidate for the 2027 elections has once again talked about the former French international, this time to the audience of French community leaders during a trip to Abu Dhabi.

'Benzema has links with a terrorist group' says French minister

Benzema, the French international forward now playing in Saudi Arabia, has an "extraordinary societal responsibility", Darmanin said, referring to his fame and social media following.

"You might ask why the interior minister reacts to the tweet of a footballer, but when he touches 20 million people I think it's my role to denounce that. Because you could ask what a footballer is doing tweeting a political opinion, and when he does it he does it in a selective way. I think personally that that is hiding something, and not to see it is naive" said Darmanin.

The whole ‘affair’ started when Benzema tweeted and supported the people from Gaza during the recent conflict. What irked Darmanin is that the Al-Ittihad player never supported the Israeli victims, or worse, the killing of the French teacher, which happened around the same time.

"I publicly called for him to tweet for that teacher who for absolutely nothing, is dead because of Islamist terrorism, and he didn't do it. Islamist "separatism" can show itself in various ways including through charities, teaching and music, as well as "athletes who subscribe to a Salafist ideology, close to the Muslim Brotherhood" the minister said, in answer to a question from the floor. He was referring to Benzema off course, who cited the religious reasons for switching to Al-Ittihad before, claiming that it is very important to be a Muslim in a Muslim country.

UEFA EUROPA LEAGUE- GROUP STAGE

Thursday

19:45: (3.35) Olympiakos (3.50) West Ham (2.25)

19:45: (10.0) TSC Backa Topola (5.20) Freiburg (1.37)

19:45: (1.75) Olympique Marseille (3.70) AEK (5.40)

19:45: (4.50) Aris Limmasol (3.60) Betis (1.90)

19:45: (2.10) Sparta Praha (3.60) Rangers (3.70)

19:45: (5.00) Rakow (3.70) Sporting (1.80)

19:45: (3.80) Sturm (3.50) Atalanta (2.00)

19:45: (1.80) Molde (3.70) Hacken (5.00)

22:00: (1.37) Brighton (5.60) Ajax (8.50)

22:00: (1.22) Liverpool (7.75) Toulouse (13.0)

22:00: (1.65) St.Gilloise (3.90) LASK (6.00)

22:00: (2.85) Panathinaikos (3.30) Rennes (2.70)

22:00: (1.80) Roma (3.70) Slavia Praha (5.00)

22:00: (2.45) Sheriff Tiraspol (3.45) Servette (3.05)

22:00: (1.22) Leverkusen (7.00) Qarabag (11.0)

***odds are subject to change***

UEFA CONFERENCE LEAGUE

Thursday

19:45: (3.05) Ki Klaksvik (3.50) Olimpija (2.45)

19:45: (1.45) Lille (4.70) Slovan B. (8.00)

19:45: (1.15) Gent (10.5) Breidablik (17.0)

19:45: (2.15) Ballkani (3.50) Astana (3.60)

19:45: (3.60) Lugano (3.50) Club Brugge (2.05)

19:45: (3.35) AZ Alkmaar (3.45) Aston Villa (2.15)

19:45: (1.25) Fenerbahce (6.50) Ludogorets (10.5)

22:00: (1.90) Dinamo Zagreb (3.60) Plzen (4.50)

22:00: (2.35) Bodo (3.50) Besiktas (2.95)

22:00: (3.15) Zrinjski (3.50) Legia (2.35)

22:00: (1.15) Fiorentina (10.5) Cukaricki (17.0)

22:00: (1.75) Genk (3.60) Ferencvaros (4.90)

22:00: (3.60) Aberdeen (3.50) PAOK (2.15)

22:00: (1.15) Eintr.Frankfurt (10.5) Helsinki (17.0)

22:00: (5.40) Trnava (3.80) Nordsjaelland (1.65)

***odds are subject to change***