French senator wants Karim Benzema's Ballon d'Or title, citizenship be stripped

French senator Valerie Boyer has called for footballer Karim Benzema's Ballon d'Or award to be revoked and his citizenship stripped after recent statements on the Israel-Hamas conflict. It also comes on the heels of French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin outrightly saying Benzema belongs to Muslim Brotherhood, a religious and political group that is designated as a terrorist group by France.Israel-Hamas conflict: Protests, solidarity and matches cancelled amid growing violenceBenzema posted a message on Sunday, 15 October, where he spoke about the attacks on Gaza Strip. In his post, the former Real Madrid striker said: "All our prayers go out to the people of Gaza, victims once again of unjust bombings that spare neither women nor children."After this tweet, Darmanin said Benzema had links to the Muslim Brotherhood. A portion of Darmanin's remarks, as reported by French TV outlet CNews, reads: "We have closed 1,100 Islamist establishments. And in recent weeks, I’ve been particularly interested, Mr. Benzema is linked, we all know it, notoriously with the Muslim Brotherhood."Immediately after this, Senator Boyer, representing Les Republicains in Bouches-du-Rhone, stated, as reported by MARCA: "If the statements of the Minister of the Interior are true, we must consider sanctions against Karim Benzema. An initially symbolic sanction would be to strip the Ballon d'Or from him. Finally, we must request the loss of nationality."Karim Benzema was born in Lyon in 1987 to French parents of Algerian descent. In an interview in June, the 35-year-old said that his faith was the major reason behind his decision to transfer from Real Madrid to Al-Ittihad. Speaking with Goal, he said: "Well, because I'm Muslim, and this is a Muslim country, and I have always wanted to live here (explaining the reason for his transfer to Al-Ittihad)."Playing for France, Benzema scored 37 goals in 97 appearances. He retired from international football in December 2022.The 2021-22 season marked one of the highlights of Karim Benzema's playing career. During this season, he scored an impressive 44 goals and provided 15 assists in 46 matches across various competitions. He also helped Real Madrid to victory in both Spanish LaLiga and the UEFA Champions League.