Former Real Madrid striker Karim Benzema plans to sue France's Interior Minister after he accused the football star of having links to the Muslim Brotherhood.
Benzema's lawyer Hugues Vigier said he would take legal action against Gerald Darmanin on the grounds of “false information and public insults”.
The threat comes after the footballer, who recently moved to Saudi Pro League club Al-Ittihad, posted a message online saying that he was praying “for the inhabitants of Gaza, once again victims of these unjust bombings that spare neither women nor children”.
Mr Darmanin, a member of President Emmanuel Macron’s La Republique En Marche party, responded and said the footballer should have denounced “Hamas’s terrorist attacks”.
“Everyone knows that Mr Benzema has notable links to the Muslim Brotherhood,” he said.
The Muslim Brotherhood was founded in Egypt in the 1920s and has been designated as a terrorist group by several Arab countries.
Mr Vigier told RMC radio station that Benzema was not linked to the Muslim Brotherhood, and said the allegation was “absolutely false”.
He said it was “incredible” that the person who oversees law enforcement could “make this kind of statement without verification”, adding that this was unacceptable.
Mr Vigier described Mr Darmanin's remarks as “nonsense” and accused him of political opportunism.
The minister's comments led to a political row in France after Valerie Boyer, a prominent senator with the centre-right opposition Republicans, called for “measures” against Benzema if the claim turned out to be true.
This would begin with the footballer losing the Ballon d’Or award he received for being the world’s best footballer last season, she said.
“Finally, we should ask for him to lose his French nationality,” she said in a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter.
However, Aurelien Saintoul from the left-wing France Unbowed party condemned what he described as “an intolerable witch hunt” directed at Benzema.
The striker, a devout Muslim of Algerian heritage, won the Uefa Champions League five times and scored 354 goals for Real Madrid before he moved to Saudi Arabia.
Benzema, who made his debut in 2007, played 97 times for France and scored 37 goals before he retired from international football last year.
Checks continue
A High Court judge issued an interim order on Friday suspending a decision by Agriculture Minister Edwin Poots to direct a stop to Brexit agri-food checks at Northern Ireland ports.
Mr Justice Colton said he was making the temporary direction until a judicial review of the minister's unilateral action this week to order a halt to port checks that are required under the Northern Ireland Protocol.
Civil servants have yet to implement the instruction, pending legal clarity on their obligations, and checks are continuing.
The biog
Nickname: Mama Nadia to children, staff and parents
Education: Bachelors degree in English Literature with Social work from UAE University
As a child: Kept sweets on the window sill for workers, set aside money to pay for education of needy families
Holidays: Spends most of her days off at Senses often with her family who describe the centre as part of their life too
The President's Cake
Director: Hasan Hadi
Starring: Baneen Ahmad Nayyef, Waheed Thabet Khreibat, Sajad Mohamad Qasem
Rating: 4/5
The biog
Age: 19
Profession: medical student at UAE university
Favourite book: The Ocean at The End of The Lane by Neil Gaiman
Role model: Parents, followed by Fazza (Shiekh Hamdan bin Mohammed)
Favourite poet: Edger Allen Poe
Pharaoh's curse
British aristocrat Lord Carnarvon, who funded the expedition to find the Tutankhamun tomb, died in a Cairo hotel four months after the crypt was opened.
He had been in poor health for many years after a car crash, and a mosquito bite made worse by a shaving cut led to blood poisoning and pneumonia.
Reports at the time said Lord Carnarvon suffered from “pain as the inflammation affected the nasal passages and eyes”.
Decades later, scientists contended he had died of aspergillosis after inhaling spores of the fungus aspergillus in the tomb, which can lie dormant for months. The fact several others who entered were also found dead withiin a short time led to the myth of the curse.
'Morbius'
Director: Daniel Espinosa
Stars: Jared Leto, Matt Smith, Adria Arjona
Rating: 2/5
THE BIO: Martin Van Almsick
Hometown: Cologne, Germany
Family: Wife Hanan Ahmed and their three children, Marrah (23), Tibijan (19), Amon (13)
Favourite dessert: Umm Ali with dark camel milk chocolate flakes
Favourite hobby: Football
Breakfast routine: a tall glass of camel milk
More coverage from the Future Forum
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
Business Insights
- As per the document, there are six filing options, including choosing to report on a realisation basis and transitional rules for pre-tax period gains or losses.
- SMEs with revenue below Dh3 million per annum can opt for transitional relief until 2026, treating them as having no taxable income.
- Larger entities have specific provisions for asset and liability movements, business restructuring, and handling foreign permanent establishments.
Timeline
2012-2015
The company offers payments/bribes to win key contracts in the Middle East
May 2017
The UK SFO officially opens investigation into Petrofac’s use of agents, corruption, and potential bribery to secure contracts
September 2021
Petrofac pleads guilty to seven counts of failing to prevent bribery under the UK Bribery Act
October 2021
Court fines Petrofac £77 million for bribery. Former executive receives a two-year suspended sentence
December 2024
Petrofac enters into comprehensive restructuring to strengthen the financial position of the group
May 2025
The High Court of England and Wales approves the company’s restructuring plan
July 2025
The Court of Appeal issues a judgment challenging parts of the restructuring plan
August 2025
Petrofac issues a business update to execute the restructuring and confirms it will appeal the Court of Appeal decision
October 2025
Petrofac loses a major TenneT offshore wind contract worth €13 billion. Holding company files for administration in the UK. Petrofac delisted from the London Stock Exchange
November 2025
180 Petrofac employees laid off in the UAE
