(AFP) Algerian international footballer Youcef Atal was handed an eight-month suspended sentence by a French court Wednesday for inciting religious hatred in a social media post about the conflict in Gaza.
The 27-year-old defender, who plays for Ligue 1 side Nice, must also pay a fine of 45,000 euros ($49,000) for sharing a video calling for a “black day for the Jews,” the Nice criminal court ruled.
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.
