Frenchman Muhammad Abdallah Kounta suspended by sports federation for hate speech – Libération

2024-08-14 16:07:13

A member of the French sports team during the Paris Games, Kounta has published hateful comments specifically targeting Israel on his social networks. He was suspended this Thursday by his team.

Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, a member of the French athletics team during the 2024 Olympic Games who participated in the 4×400 m relays – of men and mixed – has been suspended this Wednesday, August 14 by his Federation (FFA). He has published and spread on social networks many hateful messages, mainly targeting Israel. Amélie Oudéa-Castéra welcomed the decision “surprise” and d“unacceptable”. The Minister of Sports who resigned also indicated that the President of Sports (FFA) confirmed that he had contacted the Attorney General and the Disciplinary Committee of the Federation.

Posts published by Kounta have since been deleted. After deleting his X account, the player was again enabled to publish an apology message in which he introduced himself as “French, Muslim and pride”. “People have fun digging through my tweets and taking some of my words out of context, creating a reputation for me as anti-white, anti-France, anti-Semitic, etc.”, he explained. “I am against genocide and any form of racism or injustice, and I think I don’t need to prove how much I love my country. Those present at the Stade de France will be able to bear witness to this”adds Kounta in the second message on the social network.

Mardi, string “news”. of news “SwordOfSolomon”listing several screenshots of messages published by Kounta between 2021 and 2024, calling for his expulsion from the FFA: “His tendency to hate other countries, religions and athletes is not only against the core values ​​of sport, but also unacceptable for someone who deserves to wear the colors of France.”. According to the newspaper GlobalThis group will be made up of anonymous Israeli digital activists.

During the Olympic Games, Kounta, for example, made fun of the security arrangements with the Israeli delegation. “In the Olympic village, all the buildings are open, you can enter as you like except for one building that is monitored by GIGN. I’ll let you guess what this is.”he posted on August 12. To a commenter questioning “heavenly dragons” – a term mainly used by the fascist community to vent its hatred of Jews – he replied: “not complicated but well done”.

These words “unacceptable” essentially also agree and disagree on Tuesday evening on X by the Vice-President of the regional council of Ile-de-France. Patrick Karam then called for “Severe sanctions” towards Kounta. For his part, the head of Efsra Reims Vincent Bourdy – where the athlete is licensed – told our colleagues from France 3: “We oppose these comments, which are against the club’s values ​​of inclusion and entertainment for all. Politics and religion must leave the field.”

I married Hugo Hay

FFA did not comment specifically on Kounta’s case but on “Statements by several athletes from the French team on the occasion of the Olympic Games”, also refers to racist homophobic messages published between 2014 and 2017 from long-distance runner Hugo Haywho also participated in the 2024 Olympics.

“The Federation reminds all athletes of the French team that the expression of personal opinions must not endanger the unity of French sports and the French team, and must respect the values ​​of the republic.”he explained. And to add: “It condemns the fact that athletes take the Olympic ceremony as an opportunity to express their personal opinions, some of which are criminal”the matter continues. FFA also remembers that “The President of the Federation has contacted the competent authorities in order to shed light on all these facts, and will continue to do so in the future.”