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Karim Benzema available for Euro 2016

kd/dv (AP, AFP)March 12, 2016

Karim Benzema will be allowed to play in the summer tournament after his legal restrictions were lifted on Friday. He will be allowed to play with French teammate, Mathieu Valbuena, the other party in the blackmail case.

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Französischer Fußballspieler Karim Benzema
Image: picture-alliance/dpa/A. Taherkenareh

Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema will be available for the French national team at this year's European Championships after a French appeals court lifted legal restrictions regarding his blackmail case on Friday.

The appeals court "upheld the decision of the investigating magistrate that allows Karim Benzema to come into contact with (French national team teammate) Mathieu Valbuena", lawyer Olivier Combe said. Sylvian Cormier, one of Benzema's lawyers, described the decision as "a first step" for his client.

"Good sense has won the day," Cormier told reporters. "Now the decision (of Benzema's potential involvement in Euro 2016) is no longer ours."

The decision stems from a blackmail case involving Benzema and Valbuena, a midfielder for French club Olympique Lyonnais. Benzema was charged in November with conspiracy to blackmail in an attempt to extort money from Valbuena, who was featured in a sextape. Benzema was indefinitely suspended from the French national team in December due to his legal problems.

With the restrictions lifted, Benzema is now allowed to come into contact with Valbuena, facilitating the possibility for the two to play for France simultaneously. Benzema still remains under investigation.

kd/dv (AP, AFP)