Youcef Atal, OGC Nice footballer, will be tried on December 18 for provoking hatred

2023-11-24 13:43:58
OGC Nice player Youcef Atal, here in November 2020. DAVID W CERNY / REUTERS

OGC Nice player Youcef Atal will be tried on December 18 for provoking hatred on grounds of religion, after a publication linked to the conflict between Israel and Hamas, the Nice prosecutor’s office announced on Friday, November 24.

Placed in police custody Thursday, according to information from daily Nice morning, the 27-year-old Algerian international defender was referred to the prosecution on Friday and summoned to the Nice criminal court. While awaiting the judgment, he was placed under judicial supervision with a bail of 80,000 euros and a ban on leaving the national territory, except for reasons linked to his activity as a professional footballer.

Since October 14, reactions have multiplied to denounce the sharing, on the footballer’s Instagram account, of a video of a preacher making, according to these accusers, anti-Semitic remarks calling for violence.

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Suspended until further notice by his club

According to a press release from the prosecution, in this video, preacher Mahmoud Al Hasanat called on God to send “a dark day for the Jews” and to “accompany the hand” residents of Gaza if they “throw the stone”. On October 16, the prosecution opened a preliminary investigation into advocating terrorism and inciting hatred on grounds of religion. At the end of the investigation, only the second count was retained.

Even though he quickly deleted his post and apologized, the player was suspended until further notice by his club. The disciplinary committee of the Professional Football League, for its part, imposed a seven-match suspension on him.

Despite the player’s apologies, OGC Nice explained that it had chosen to “take immediately” Sanctions, “prerequisites” to those that could be taken by sporting or judicial authorities, “taking into account the nature of the shared publication and its seriousness”.

The World with AFP