The Benzema dispute remains open as Deschamps faces a new court hearing

The dispute over Benzema’s omission from the France squad is not over: Deschamps and journalist Daniel Riolo are set for another legal chapter. Riolo’s lawyer confirmed that the journalist would face an appeal hearing for defamation on January 13, 2027.

A few days before the World Cup began, Benzema was reported to have suffered a muscle tear during a France training session in Doha. Deschamps then left the forward out of the squad without bringing in a replacement. Daniel Riolo challenged the decision, calling it a « fallacieux » pretext to leave out the former Real Madrid player.

The journalist also renewed his criticism of Deschamps by referring to « affaires troubles », including the Valencia-Marseille case and the Juventus doping crisis. In November 2025, Deschamps decided to sue Riolo for defamation.

At the hearing, Deschamps appeared as a witness alongside Franck Le Gall, France’s team doctor, and Mohamed Sahnadji, the team’s security officer. Riolo was acquitted two months later. The seventeenth chamber of the Paris Court of Appeal nevertheless noted his « volonté de Riolo de nuire à la réputation », while ruling that his remarks were « injustes, mais pas diffamatoires ».

Deschamps and his lawyer, Isabelle Fichstein, considered the decision ambiguous. The France coach appealed on the same day. The Paris Court of Appeal later sent the case to a defamation appeal hearing, scheduled for the beginning of next year. Riolo’s lawyer specified the date as January 13, 2027, giving the dispute sparked by the comments about Benzema’s omission another day in court.