Former French international striker Djibril Cisse revealed Thursday that he had been placed under formal investigation as part of the ongoing probe into a sex tape blackmail case, his lawyer said.
However, his legal team shrugged off the latest development, describing it as "a non-event".
"On
February 24, 2017, Mr Djibril Cisse was charged with an indictment in
connection with the proceedings pending following the complaint lodged
by his friend Mr Mathieu Valbuena," said his lawayer in a statement sent to AFP.
"This
decision is a non-event for Mr. Cisse since it is only a consequence of
the judgement of the Versailles Court of Appeal of December 16, 2016
and in the absence of Mr. Cisse, who was not a party to the
proceedings."
In December, a court rejected a request from Real Madrid and France striker Karim Benzema to drop their investigation into the alleged blackmail over a sex tape featuring international teammate Mathieu Valbuena.
Investigators
suspect Benzema of acting as an intermediary between the presumed
blackmailers -- including one of his childhood friends -- and Lyon midfielder Valbuena.
Benzema,
who has denied all claims of wrongdoing, and three of the other
suspects had asked for the case against them to be dropped.
