The French judiciary has given Algerian football player Youcef Atal an eight-month suspended prison sentence over his social media posts, in which he declared his support for Palestine against Israel in the ongoing war.
The Criminal Court in Nice on Wednesday, January 3, also imposed on Atal a fine of 45,000 euros (Rs 40,97,565) and forced him to publish his conviction details at his own expense in the Nice-Matin and Le Monde daily, AFP reported.
On October 14, Atal shared a video of Palestinian preacher Mahmoud al-Hasanat, who calls for God to ‘send Jewish people a dark day’. Later, he deleted the post and apologized.
“I am aware that my post shocked many people, which wasn’t my intention, and I apologise,” Atal wrote on Instagram story on Sunday, October 15.
“I want to clarify my point of view without any ambiguity: I strongly denounce all forms of violence, wherever in the world, and I support all victims.”
On October 16, the Public Prosecutor in Nice opened a preliminary investigation against him. On October 18, Atal was suspended until further notice, while the National Football Ethics Council referred the matter to the league’s disciplinary committee. On October 25, the French Football Federation announced a seven-match suspension.
On November 23, he was arrested on charges of “provoking racial hatred on grounds of religion”.
On November 24, Atal was released on bail of 80,000 euros (Rs 72,84,764) and placed under judicial supervision pending trial. He was only allowed to leave France for international football games.
Since the start of the Israel and Hamas war on October 7, many Muslim football players have been subjected to criticism of their support for the Palestinian people on social media platforms, such as Karim Benzema and Anwar El Ghazi.
On October 7, Palestinian militant group Hamas launched an unprecedented attack on Israel, killing 1,200 people, according to the Israeli authorities, and holding, along with other Palestinian factions, about 240 hostages.
Since then, Israel has carried out a devastating bombardment on the Gaza Strip that has killed more than 22,000 people, according to figures from the Gaza Ministry of Health.
