• Real Madrid striker will not be selected by France until case is resolved • Benzema, who could miss Euro 2016, denies any wrongdoing

The French international Karim Benzema, under formal investigation in connection with an alleged attempt to blackmail a fellow player, has been suspended from the national team, the head of the French Football Federation said.

Mathieu Valbuena ‘deeply disappointed’ by Karim Benzema over ‘sex tape plot’ Read more

Noël Le Graët said he and his federation colleagues were enormously sad to have made the decision that the Real Madrid striker was no longer able to be selected, saying he was a talented player.

Benzema is being investigated over an alleged attempt by one of his friends to extort money from a fellow international, Mathieu Valbuena, over a sex tape. He told investigators he approached Valbuena about the tape on behalf of “a childhood friend” but claims he did not think he was doing anything wrong.

His lawyer has insisted he was not party to any blackmail attempt. “He played no part, I repeat no part, in any blackmail or attempted blackmail,” Sylvain Cormier, Benzema’s lawyer, said last month.

Benzema had asked the FFF to delay making a decision which came six months before Euro 2016 takes place in France. The player was formally put under investigation on 5 November for “complicity in a blackmail attempt” and being part of a “criminal group”. He is under judicial control, meaning he is not allowed to have any contact with Valbuena.

On Thursday, Le Graët told reporters: “This is a case that involves two people to whom I’m very attached.

“Valbuena is an exceptional man. As a member of the French team, he has never missed the slightest opportunity to shine. He’s an exceptional player.

“Then there’s Benzema … he was born in a difficult district and he hasn’t changed his friends. His friends haven’t moved forward while he has become a star, a media figure, someone who is extremely well off. He doesn’t communicate particularly well, but he’s intelligent in the game. What’s obvious is that he’s been keeping some bad company.”

Le Graët added: “Like everyone I have a heart. To punish has never been my cup of tea. Today, Benzema is not able to be picked and he won’t be in June [at Euro 2016] if the situation does not change. It’s heartbreaking, I must say.

“We’re all embarrassed, we would have preferred to avoid such an affair. I’m unhappy about it firstly because he is good and because I’m convinced he was caught up in something completely crazy which went over his head.”