On Thursday, the prosecution requested the conviction of RMC journalist Daniel Riolo, who is being sued for defamation by the French national team coach Didier Deschamps.

The judgment of the 17th chamber of the Paris criminal court was reserved until January 30, 2026, following a hearing lasting nearly five hours.

Between January and March 2023, during the show "L'After Foot", a daily talk show broadcast on RMC, the journalist accused Deschamps of having "concealed the truth about Karim Benzema's departure" during the 2022 World Cup, in which the striker, who was playing for Real Madrid at the time, ultimately did not participate due to an injury.

In other incriminating remarks, Daniel Riolo had accused the coach of the French national team of appearing "in all the shady affairs of French football", citing in particular the VA-OM corruption case, in reference to the D1 match which gave rise to cases of corruption in May 1993 --Deschamps was playing in Marseille at the time--, or doping cases at Juventus Turin, where he played as a player and then as a coach.

In court, the RMC commentator defended himself by referring to "a general statement". "I did not accuse Didier Deschamps of being part of the VA-OM corruption case or of doping at Juve", he argued.

Daniel Riolo argued more broadly that it was an "opinion program" during which the world of football was scrutinized daily by an audience of 13.9 million listeners (live and podcast), according to Médiamétrie.

"The doctor I contacted told me that Benzema could have played, I did my job as a journalist (...). Benzema should be in my place, it seems that it is more about the tormented relationship of the two men (Deschamps and Benzema, editor's note)," he added.

Didier Deschamps, for his part, asserted that he has "a good relationship with the press." "I am subject to analysis, contradiction, harsh or unfair criticism, that's normal. I respect freedom of the press as long as it doesn't veer into comments that attack my values, my honesty," said the national team coach, who is suing a journalist for the first time.

The prosecutor called for a conviction of the journalist, regretting that the investigation had "not really been done" and referring to comments "thrown to the wolves".

Didier Deschamps is demanding a symbolic one euro in compensation for moral damages.

AFP