Didier Deschamps is getting bored of questions relating to Karim Benzema’s France future but refused to reject the striker’s claims that he will never get called up again until the coaching regime changes.
Real Madrid star Benzema has been in the international wilderness since police charged him in connection to an alleged blackmail of Mathieu Valbuena with a sex tape in 2015.
The case has not gone to trial yet, but in July the Court of Cassation – France’s court of final appeals in civil and criminal proceedings – found in favour of the forward.
Benzema’s lawyers argued an undercover police officer acted dishonestly and played an “active role” in coercing the parties towards a deal and that without his actions no crime would have even taken place.
The 29-year-old, who last featured for France in October 2015, claimed in an interview on Sunday that Deschamps will never give him a chance, and the coach is annoyed at constantly being asked about the situation.
Speaking at a news conference ahead of Tuesday’s friendly with Germany, Deschamps said: “Have you planned on putting that subject on the table before each game?
“The news of the France team was the match against Wales and now Germany, a match of prestige.
“Open all the debates that you want, but I think that the players that I select, and in whom I have total confidence, deserve a minimum amount of respect.
“I’m not annoyed. It can be boring, but I will deal with it.”
France are already being spoken about as one of the favourites for next year’s World Cup, evidenced by the stance of many bookmakers.
But Deschamps claims that certainly is not the view in France, with the former midfielder surmising that Tuesday’s hosts Germany are a level “above”.
“They [the bookmakers] must not be French,” the 49-year-old quipped.
“I don’t know, maybe they take risks. It’s something quite flattering that outside our borders, many specialists recognise quality through what we have been able to do.
“I consider Germany to be above us. Through their experiences in recent years, there is a collective experience.
“At the international level that takes time, you only have to see the beginning of their adventure that began in 2004 to 2006, and then they had the ultimate title [the World Cup] eight years later [in 2014].
“Their players have accumulated league titles and Champions Leagues. In this area, we’re still a little behind.”
