A Nice court sentenced Algerian international football player Youcef Atal to eight months of suspended prison time and a fine of 45,000 euros for reposting an article regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict on social media.
According to the court, the social media repost incited religious hatred.
Nice, a Ligue 1 team, suspended defender Atal in October following the media post, which he later removed. Atal has been with Nice since 2018.
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The bloodiest Palestinian militant attack in Israeli history saw 1,200 Israelis killed by Hamas fighters on October 7.
This led to an Israeli counteroffensive that is now into its third month, involving both land and air strikes.
By Wednesday, 22,313 Palestinians have lost their lives, according to the Gaza Health Ministry.
According to the French newspaper Nice-Matin, Atal reposted a 35-second video featuring a Palestinian preacher who prayed for God to cast “a black day over the Jews” the day following the Hamas attack on October 7.
He has expressed regret for the removed post. “I apologise, I was not intending to shock so many people with my post,” the 27-year-old Atal wrote on Instagram at the time.
However, Algerian Football Federation has reacted to the decision and labelled France as the most openly racist country when it comes to North Africans and Muslims.