<div><span style="font-size: 1rem;"><b>Algerian international footballer Youcef Atal was handed an eight-month suspended sentence by a French court today for inciting religious hatred in a social media post about the conflict in Gaza.</b></span><br></div><div><br></div><div>The 27-year-old defender, who plays for Ligue 1 side Nice, must also pay a fine of €45,000 for sharing a video calling for a “black day for the Jews”, the Nice criminal court ruled.</div><div><br></div><div>He will further pay for details of his conviction to be published in regional daily Nice-Matin and national newspaper Le Monde.</div><div><br></div><div>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’s bloody Oct 7 assault on Israel.</div><div><br></div><div>Israel in response launched a campaign against the group which has cost over 22,000 lives according to the territory’s Hamas-run health ministry.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>Atal was with the Algerian national team in his home country when he shared the video.</div><div><br></div><div>He withdrew it the following day when Nice warned him it was likely to attract controversy, offering his apologies.</div><div><br></div><div>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.</div><div><br></div><div>That argument did not convince prosecutors or plaintiffs, mostly Jewish organisations and the Professional Football League (LFP).</div><div><br></div><div>“Sharing a video means being party to its message and lending it visibility,” prosecutor Meggi Choutia told the court.</div><div><br></div><div>“There is no talk of peace at any moment in these 35 seconds,” she added.</div><div><br></div><div>Nice have suspended Atal from playing “until further notice”, while he received a seven-match ban – since expired – from the LFP.</div><div><br></div><div>He has however appeared for Algeria’s Fennecs three times, he is in their squad for the upcoming African Nations Cup tournament, and received support in his home country. - AFP</div><div><br></div><div>bnbd24/fas</div>