Benzema back in France squad after 6-year exile

PARIS: France coach Didier Deschamps recalled forward Karim Benzema after nearly six years out for his alleged part in a “sex tape” scandal, including the Real Madrid star in his squad for the European Championship.

The 33-year-old Benzema played the last of his 81 games for Les Bleus in October 2015.

“Why now? I don’t have the capacity and no one does, not even Karim, of going back and changing the past,” Deschamps said.

Benzema expressed his relief in a statement on his Twitter account. “So proud of this return to the France team and the trust I’ve been shown,” he wrote. “Thanks to my family, my friends, my club, to you (the fans) ... and to all who have supported me and given me strength every day.”

He had been banned from the national team because of the “sex tape” scandal in which he was allegedly involved in blackmailing former France teammate Matthieu Valbuena.

Benzema faced a deluge of criticism, and then-prime Minister Manuel Valls said the forward had no place in the national team. Benzema, who is of Algerian descent, had a good relationship with Deschamps. But in an interview, he had accused Deschamps of giving in to pressure from racists when the coach decided not to include him in the squad for Euro 2016.

Mueller, Hummels recalled by Germany

BERLIN: Germany head coach Joachim Loew on Wednesday named Thomas Mueller and Mats Hummels in the 26-man provisional German squad for the Euro 2020 finals, ending the pair’s two-year exile.

“Back again,” Mueller, 31, posted on Twitter. Hummels, 32, also reacted, on Instagram: “I am glad to be back - I’m really up for the new chapter”. However, there was no recall for Jerome Boateng, who was also axed in March 2019.

BCCI match referee Mohapatra dies of Covid

MUMBAI: Former Odisha captain Prashant Mohapatra succumbed to Covid-19 during treatment in Bhubaneswar on Wednesday.

Prashant’s father Raghunath Mohapatra, Rajya Sabha MP and Padma Vibhusan awardee, had also died of Covid on May 9.

Prashant played 45 First Class ties scoring 2,196 runs which included five centuries and 11 fifties. After his retirement, he became the BCCI match referee.

Prashant has a Mumbai connection as well. He was coached by the late Ramakant Achrekar and later played for Rizvi College, Kamath Memorial and the Sassanian CC between 1993-96.