Karim Benzema has caused a storm ahead of Euro 2016 by claiming that his exclusion from the France squad was racially motivated. Under investigation over an alleged sex-tape blackmail case, Benzema told Spanish daily Marca that France coach Didier Deschamps had bowed to pressure from a racist French party in his selection process. His comments, however, have been met with indignation with politicians speaking out against the Real Madrid strikers accusations.French Sports Minister Patrick Kanner sympathised with Benzemas predicament, but rejected any attack on Deschamps just nine days ahead of the start of Euro 2016 in France.I can understand Mr Benzemas disappointment but under no circumstances are his statements acceptable regarding what he said about Mr Deschamps sporting decisions nor his personality, Kanner said.I call for calm, I would like us to concentrate on the competition and would ask everyone to get behind Les Bleus which is what the 23 squad members will be expecting of us. So lets stop this non-debate.Francois Fillon, who was Prime Minister for five years between 2007-2012 and who is hoping to run in the next presidential election, rejected Benzemas position out of hand. I cant stand for that, he said. Forever bringing the nations problems down to questions of race, religion and ethnic communities, its unhealthy. Didier Deschamps did not select Benzema for Frances Euro 2016 squad Benzemas remarks have re-ignited Frances racial tensions, and found some sympathy with Socialist Party parliamentarian Benoit Hamon.He told Frances Europe 1 radio station that Benzema was right to say we are in a country where racism is on the rise. But he insisted there was no evidence of Deschamps being a racist.Benzema was suspended from international duty in December over a legal investigation into an alleged attempt by one of his friends to blackmail France international Mathieu Valbuena over a sex tape.He faces up to five years in jail over accusations he encouraged Valbuena to pay the blackmailers. Benzema has denied all the blackmail accusations. 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Will Butcher Jersey . The 23-year-old from Thornhill, Ont., defeated Germanys Benjamin Becker 6-3, 6-4 on Tuesday in the fourth round of the Sony Open in just 89 minutes.Melbourne, Australia (SportsNetwork.com) - Tomas Berdych picked a good time to end his lengthy losing streak to Rafael Nadal, while Andy Murray continued his run toward another Australian Open final. Tuesdays first mens quarterfinal was never close and the second wasnt much more competitive. Berdych became the first player to stamp his ticket into the semifinals following a shocking 6-2, 6-0, 7-6 (7-5) win over the second-seeded former world No. 1 Nadal at the years first Grand Slam event. Murray, a three-time Aussie Open runner-up, then dispatched 19-year-old Aussie crowd favorite Nick Kyrgios, 6-3, 7-6 (7-5), 6-3. The third-seeded Nadal was able to fend off a pair of match points in his final service game of the third set, but was unable to overcome a 2-5 deficit in the tiebreak. With the No. 7 seed Berdych up 6-5, Nadal sent the backhand of Berdychs serve into the net and the Czech officially put his straight-set triumph into the books. Berdych had dropped 17 consecutive matches to last years Aussie Open finalist Nadal, a streak that dated back to 2007. He also reached his second straight Aussie semi. The big-hitting Berdych had been 3-18 lifetime against Nadal, including a loss in the 2010 Wimbledon final. Nadal owns 14 major titles, including a lone Aussie championship in 2009. Hes also a two-time runner-up at Melbourne Park, including last year against Stan Wawrinka. It just was not my day, said Nadal. I didnt play with the right intensity, with the right rhythm, and the opponent played better than me. You have to play well to win against a player like Tomas. I didnt play my best today. He played better than me and thats it. Thats sport. Sometimes, almost every time, it is simple: the player who plays better, the player who is able to maintain the better rhythm, the better concentration, play with less mistakes, is the player who has more success. And today this player has been Tomas. Meanwhile, Murray was in command throughout against Kyrgios and didnt face a break point against hhis serve until the seventh game of the third set.dddddddddddd He advanced to the semifinals for the fifth time in the last six years, bouncing back from a quarterfinal loss to Roger Federer last year. The sixth-seeded Scot broke for a 4-2 lead in the first set and won a tight tiebreak in the second before breaking serve for another 4-2 lead in the third. Kyrgios finally answered with a break, but Murray responded with one of his own for a 5-3 advantage and held serve to finish the match in just over two hours. Im happy. Its nice to be in the latter stages of a slam again, said Murray. Im happy with that. Obviously we want to do the best possible, but all you can do is prepare as best you can, which I certainly did over the past few weeks and months, and have given myself an opportunity. Maybe I wont play well in a couple of days; maybe I play great. I dont know. But Ive given myself a good opportunity again, and hopefully I can use it to my advantage. The two-time Grand Slam champion Murray will meet Berdych in the semis. Mens quarterfinal play will continue Wednesday. The fourth-seeded defending Melbourne champion Wawrinka will face fifth-seeded U.S. Open runner-up Kei Nishikori and the evening match will feature four-time Aussie winner Novak Djokovic against eighth-seeded Canadian slugger Milos Raonic. Obviously, if he serves as well as he does, 20, 30 aces average per match, puts a lot of pressure on the opponents serve, Djokovic said of Raonic. You take a chance, you double fault, the set is gone. These kind of matches are very challenging mentally for us to play against servers like that. Djokovic is a perfect 4-0 versus Raonic, while Wawrinka is 2-1 lifetime against Nishikori, although the Japanese star captured their last meeting in the U.S. Open quarterfinals back in September. The world No. 1 Djokovic is the reigning Wimbledon champion who is seeking an eighth Grand Slam title. He captured three straight Aussie crowns from 2011-13. 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