Anwar Ibrahim (Cairo)
Before the fateful confrontation between France and Argentina in the final of the World Cup currently being held in Qatar, French star Karim Benzema, captain of Real Madrid, sparked intense controversy in French and international press circles, after he published on his Instagram account a very short and mysterious message, in which he said: “I am not interested,” without specifying exactly what he meant by this phrase, to which he attached a picture.
Benzema had left the residence of the French national team in the Qatari capital, Doha, after being injured again in his thigh, and despite that, Didier Deschamps, the coach, did not want to call his replacement, which means that the star who won the Golden Ball award for this year has the right to obtain a medal in the event that the team wins. His country won the world championship, which is received on his behalf by the French Football Federation.
According to FIFA regulations, Benzema can also – in the event of his technical and physical readiness – return to his place in the “roosters” list, and even play the final match against the Argentine national team, if Deschamps had summoned him and asked for his services, but what happened is the opposite, as the latter Originally, in his press conference after the victory over Morocco in the semi-finals, he ignored the answer to a question related to the possibility of Benzema returning to the national team, and asked the questioner to ask the following question.
Many French press sources unanimously agreed that this response on the part of Deschamps prompted Benzema to broadcast his brief message on his Instagram page, in which he merely said: I am not interested.
Benzema started group training with his Real Madrid teammates more than a week ago, and even participated in a friendly match played by the team and seemed ready to play, but the chances of him returning to participate with his country in the final match are nil because Deschamps ruled out this assumption. Accordingly, Benzema may reject the idea of traveling to Doha to encourage and support his country’s national team, watching from the stands, even though he obtained the approval of his club to travel.
And the newspaper “L’Equipe” revealed that Benzema’s departure from the “roosters” team due to injury was not friendly at all, and that the relationship between him and Deschamps was tense, and the apathy returned to it again.
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