A French court sentenced Algerian international football player Youcef Atal to eight months of suspended jail on Wednesday for inciting hatred towards religion in a social media post regarding the Gaza conflict.
The Nice criminal court decided that the 27-year-old Nice defender, who plays for the Ligue 1 team, must also pay a fine of 45,000 euros ($49,000) for sharing a video that calls for a "black day for the Jews."
In addition, he will foot the bill for his conviction's specifics to appear in the local daily Nice-Matin and the national newspaper Le Monde and be viewable on his Instagram page for a month.
The comments in question were found in a video of preacher Mahmoud Al Hasanat that Atal uploaded to his 3.2 million Instagram followers five days following the deadly attack on Israel by Hamas on October 7.
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In response, Israel launched a campaign against the militant group that, according to the health ministry run by Hamas in the territory, has claimed over 22,000 lives.
Al Hasanat prayed to God for a "black day for the Jews" and to "guide the hand" of the Gazans, retaliating after speaking about the children who were killed in the bombardment.
When Atal shared the video, he was in his native Algeria with the national team.
The next day, after Nice had informed him that it would probably cause controversy, he withdrew it and apologized.
During the hearings, Atal again expressed his regret to the court, stating that he had intended to send a "message of peace" and had not watched the entire 35-second video before posting it.
Prosecutors and plaintiffs, primarily Jewish organizations and the Professional Football League (LFP) were not persuaded by that argument.
Prosecutor Meggi Choutia informed the court that "sharing a video means being party to its message and lending it visibility."
"There is no talk of peace at any moment in these 35 seconds," she added.
Following the decision, Atal's attorney, Antoine Vey, told AFP that the decision on Wednesday was "expected, given the context and the strong political pressure."
The football player would probably challenge his conviction, he continued.
Atal was handed a seven-match ban by the LFP, which has since expired, and Nice has suspended him from the game "until further notice."
Still, he has made three appearances for Algeria's Fennecs, is part of their squad for the upcoming Africa Cup of Nations, and has garnered support back home.
