Karim Benzema takes French interior minister to court for 'Muslim Brotherhood' claim

French football star and former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema has taken legal action against French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin, who accused him of having “notorious” links to the Muslim Brotherhood.

Benzema’s lawyer Hugues Vigier rejected the allegations on the star's behalf, saying that it has tarnished the footballer’s “honour and reputation”.

Vigier said that Benzema, who is currently in Saudi Arabia playing as a forward for Al-Ittihad, did not have “the slightest link" with the Muslim Brotherhood or to any of its members, to his knowledge.

The minister's accusations came after Benzema, the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner, posted a message of support for Palestinians in Gaza on X, previously known as Twitter.

The post reads: “All our prayers for the residents of Gaza who are once again victims of these unjust bombings which spare no women or children.”

Benzema shared the message a week after Israel started its devastating attacks on the coastal enclave, which have killed at least 24,000 Palestinians, including 10,500 children.

Before filing the case, Vigier explained that the footballer was expressing “natural compassion” with “what many today describe as war crimes being committed in Gaza".

Benzema's comments do not "detract from the horror of the terrorist acts of October 7", he added.

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The latest round of hostilities between Israel and Palestinians in Gaza started when Hamas launched a surprise multi-front assault on Israeli military bases and civilian communities on 7 October, firing thousands of rockets and sending fighters into Israel by land, air and sea.

At least 1,140 Israelis and foreigners were killed in the assault, including civilians and soldiers, and hundreds of Israelis were taken captive.

Darmanin said it was “astonishing” that Benzema has not shown support for the Israelis killed in the Hamas attacks on 7 October, and told the French TV channel CNews: “We are fighting the hydra that is the Muslim Brotherhood, because it creates an atmosphere of jihadism."

The French minister added that the 36-year-old football star should also have shown support for a French teacher who was killed by a student earlier this month.

“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,” he said during a visit to Abu Dhabi.

Benzema’s lawyer submitted a 92-page complaint against the French minister in the Cour de Justice, the only court in France in which lawsuits could be filed against government officials who are still in office.

'Political exploitation'

Speaking to French media, Vigier further accused the French minister of “political exploitation” and “sowing division” in France.

“We are once again witnessing an intolerable exploitation of Karim Benzema and the ‘symbolic figure’ that we like to make him,” he said.

'We are once again witnessing an intolerable exploitation of Karim Benzema and the ‘symbolic figure’ that we like to make him'  

- Hugues Vigier, lawyer

In the complaint, Benzema, a 36-year-old French footballer with Algerian origins, said that he is being used in “political games”.

This is not the first time that Darmanin has clashed with Benzema.

He previously criticised the star, who is the fifth-all-time top scorer for the French national team, for not singing the national anthem when playing for France, and for what he described as “proselytising on social networks".

Left-wingers have criticised Darmanin for trying to woo right-wing voters in the run-up to the June 2024 European elections, with the far-right National Rally leading the polls, by attacking figures like Benzema.