French Far-Right Leader Accuses Soccer Star Benzema of ’Islamist’ Ties Over Saudi Photo

Karim Benzema is at the center of a controversy. On Saturday, the football star posted on his Instagram account a photo of himself in traditional Saudi attire on the occasion of Saudi Arabia’s national holiday. This photo did not fail to provoke reactions. Responding to a viewer’s question on BFMTV, Jordan Bardella, president of the National Rally (RN), accuses the French international who plays for Al-Ittihad of being "a fellow traveler of Islamist ideology". "At least he is consistent. He wants an Islamist way of life. He went to Saudi Arabia. If all those who want Islamist ways of life, left for Islamist countries, maybe France would be doing better [...] I think he is a fellow traveler of Islamist ideology."

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Other football stars like the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, the Senegalese Sadio Mané or the Brazilian Neymar who play in Saudi Arabia have also worn the same outfit. This has pushed the West to accuse the crown prince of "Sportswashing", a process that allows to improve his reputation through sport. Mohammed bin Salman did not take long to respond to the accusations. "If sportswashing increases my gross domestic product (GDP) by 1%, then we will continue to practice sportswashing," he told Fox. "I don’t care about that term. Thanks to sport, our GDP has increased by 1%. And I hope to add another 1.5% more. Call it what you want, but that’s what we’re aiming for."