EURO BITES: Ligue 1 - Valbuena sex tape story returns, Ben Arfa gets France recall, PSG blitz Toulouse and Lyon hand Saint-Etienne a final Rhone-Alpes derby loss at Stade Gerland

Jonathan Johnson brings the latest news from Ligue 1 as PSG blitz Toulouse and sex tape scandal has repercussions on France selections.

VALBUENA SEX TAPE BLACKMAIL SCANDAL REARS HEAD AGAIN

A few weeks after the Mathieu Valbuena sex tape blackmail scandal first surfaced, the issue raised its head again last Thursday.

Djibril Cisse was the first football player to be taken in for questioning in relation to the alleged attempt to extort money out of the Olympique Lyonnais player. This time it was Valbuena’s France international teammate, Karim Benzema, who was questioned.

The Real Madrid man has now been placed under formal investigation and as a result both players were left out of Didier Deschamps’ squad for Les Bleus’ upcoming friendlies against Germany and England.

Despite being at the centre of the controversy, Valbuena started and played the full 90 minutes in Lyon’s 3-0 win over Rhone-Alpes rivals AS Saint-Etienne in the final derby to be played at Stade Gerland last Sunday.

BEN ARFA LEADS LIGUE 1 NAMES IN LATEST FRANCE SQUAD

With no Valbuena or Benzema in the France squad for the friendlies against Germany and England, OGC Nice’s Hatem Ben Arfa has been rewarded for his fine form so far this season with a first call-up since June 2012.

Although his red hot form of five goals and one assist in three consecutive Ligue 1 games has cooled considerably, the 28-year-old is not undeserving of international recognition from Deschamps.

Joining him in being recalled to Les Bleus’ senior setup is Tigres UANL’s Andre-Pierre Gignac, while Bayern Munich’s Kingsley Coman has made the squad for the first time.

The other Ligue 1 representatives alongside Ben Arfa are Stade Rennais’ Benoit Costil, Olympique de Marseille’s Steve Mandanda and Lassana Diarra, Lyon’s Christophe Jallet and Paris Saint-Germain’s Blaise Matuidi.

PSG DEMOLISH TOULOUSE TO STAY 10 POINTS CLEAR

After their disappointing 1-0 defeat away at Real Madrid in Group A of the UEFA Champions League last Tuesday, Ligue 1 leaders PSG bounced back by showing struggling Toulouse the full force of their frustration on the Saturday.

Goals from Angel Di Maria, Zlatan Ibrahimovic (two), Lucas Moura and Ezequiel Lavezzi pulverised Dominique Arribage’s TFC side and moved the French champions a provisional 13 points clear at the top of Le Championnat.

However, Lyon ultimately closed that gap back to 10 points by beating Rhone-Alpes rivals Saint-Etienne on Sunday.

LYON SIGN OFF IN STYLE AT GERLAND WITH WIN OVER RHONE FOES SAINT-ETIENNE

Last Sunday witnessed the final Rhone-Alpes derby to be played at Lyon’s Stade Gerland. The seven-time French champions will move into the shiny new Stade des Lumieres at the start of 2016, so bid farewell to their spiritual home with one final win over their bitter rivals.

Alexandre Lacazette broke out of his recent malaise to hit a treble to seal all three points for Les Gones in a physical encounter. The 3-0 victory was OL’s first in four against Les Verts and will be forever remembered as the last at the ground that has been home to the club since 1950.

GAZELEC AJACCIO WIN - AGAIN!

Bottom of the table with just three points and without a Ligue 1 win to their name just three weeks ago, Gazelec Ajaccio now have 12 points and are only in Le Championnat’s relegation zone on goal difference after a 2-1 win away at Stade de Reims last Saturday.

After beating Nice and Girondins de Bordeaux in Corsica, Thierry Laurey’s men edged past Reims for a first-ever away win in the top flight. Khalid Boutaib and Jacques Zoua scored the goals in Champagne-Ardenne that now leave Gazelec on the verge of exiting the bottom three for the first time since August.

CABELLA TAKES A DIG AT NEWCASTLE

Despite struggling to impress since arriving at Stade Velodrome, Marseille’s Remy Cabella criticised former club Newcastle United when speaking with L'Equipe last week.

When the France international was asked if he felt he had “lost a year” at St James’ Park, he said that he did not. However, the 25-year-old did admit that he had “bad moments” with the Magpies and was part of a team that did not “play much football.”

Although Michel is trying to get his Marseille team to play in an attractive style, Cabella and his teammates are struggling in 13th place. Last Sunday’s 1-0 home defeat to Nice, which the 25-year-old watched from the stands, leaves OM just three points above Gazelec in the final relegation place.