Real Madrid president Florentino Perez has renewed his support for Karim Benzema but France manager Didier Deschamps has acknowledged that the player made a mistake by getting caught up in the Mathieu Valbuena blackmail case.
Benzema's chances of playing in Euro 2016 are in doubt after he was suspended by his national team following his alleged involvement in an attempt to extort money from Valbuena -- his France teammate -- using a sex tape.
The Real striker, 27, was last month charged with conspiracy to blackmail and is accused of acting as an intermediary by approaching Valbuena, 31, on behalf of a childhood friend.
Benzema insists he is innocent and Perez says that the player is dealing with the controversy as best he can.
"He's gone through a situation that is difficult to manage but his conscience is absolutely clear -- he's certain he's done nothing wrong," Perez told Spanish radio station Cadena Ser.
"I know him since 2009 and he's never done anything bad in his life. In six years with us, he's done nothing but good things.
"He has never shown up late for training, he was never disrespectful with a manager and he's never clashed with a teammate."
Meanwhile, Deschamps said he did not feel let down by Benzema because he had learned to cope with players' behaviour.
"Someone said to me one day 'as a manager you give a lot for your players but you can't expect anything in return,'" Deschamps told Le Parisien. "It's awful to say that but in the end this stops you from experiencing disappointment.
"Karim made a mistake -- it's obvious. But I don't think he evaluated the situation which he found himself in.
"And I'm not saying this to defend Karim but today the players have a way of speaking to each other amongst themselves that would have been inconceivable in my day.
"They have a different language."
Deschamps reiterated his assertion that Valbuena is a blameless victim in a case he said had "annoyed" him and which he had never seen coming.
But he said that whether they make his Euro 2016 squad or not, Benzema and Valbuena's disagreement would not cause a split in the French camp at next summer's tournament.
"No," France's 1998 World Cup-winning captain responded, when asked by Le Parisien if cliques could develop within his squad as a result of the controversy.
"The players who will be there will be there at full tilt and united. They will have to be.
"But do you think maybe that during my time we were 22 players who embraced each other all the time?
"Unity is on the field. As for the rest, there's affinity and [different] groups but not clans."