A French court handed down an eight-month suspended sentence to Algerian international footballer Youcef Atal on Wednesday for inciting religious hate in a social media post regarding the Gaza crisis.
The 27-year-old Nice defender must also pay a fine of 45,000 euros ($49,000) for distributing a video asking for a “black day for Jews,” according to the Nice criminal court.
He will further pay for details of his conviction to be published in regional daily Nice-Matin and national newspaper Le Monde.
The comments at issue came in a video of a preacher, Mahmoud Al Hasanat, which Atal posted to his 3.2-million-follower Instagram account five days after Hamas’ bloody October 7 assault on Israel.
Israel in response launched a campaign against the militant group which has cost over 22,000 lives according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.
After speaking about the children killed in the bombardments, Al Hasanat called on god to send a “black day for the Jews” and “guide the hand” of Gazans striking back.
Atal was with the Algerian national team in his home country when he shared the video.
He withdrew it the following day when Nice warned him it was likely to attract controversy, offering his apologies.
Atal had apologised again to the court during the hearings, saying he had wanted to send a “message of peace” and did not watch the entire 35-second video before posting it.
That argument did not convince prosecutors or plaintiffs, mostly Jewish organisations and the Professional Football League (LFP).
“Sharing a video means being party to its message and lending it visibility,” prosecutor Meggi Choutia told the court.
“There is no talk of peace at any moment in these 35 seconds,” she added.
Nice have suspended Atal from playing “until further notice”, while he received a seven-match ban — since expired — from the LFP.
He has however appeared for Algeria’s Fennecs three times, he is in their squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations tournament, and received support in his home country.
