Much more than just a red card. OGC Nice footballer Youcef Atal was sentenced this Wednesday to an eight-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros for sharing a video calling for “a black day on the Jews”. “It was an expected decision given the context and the strong political pressure,” reacted to AFP his lawyer, Me Antoine Vey, contacted by telephone, announcing a probable appeal once he has spoken with the player.
“He did not knowingly publish a video with questionable content […]we must not make Atal the symbol that he is not,” he insisted about the Algerian international defender currently training in Togo with the Algerian national team, the Fennecs, in view of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) which begins next week.
“Justice has been served”
This conviction for provoking hatred is in line with the requisitions of the prosecution, which had requested ten months of suspended prison time, the maximum fine of 45,000 euros and the publication of the conviction for one month on the home page of the account Instagram of the Aiglons defender, who exceeds 3.2 million subscribers. This last measure, which would have more impact on the recipients of the video in the first place, is “quite complicated to implement for technical reasons”, regretted Me David Rebibou, lawyer for Crif Sud-Est (Representative Council of Jewish institutions of France). “But justice has been served. People who take advantage of their notoriety to spread hatred must know that there is a counterpart,” he added.
In the absence of Atal, his lawyers and the lawyers of most of the civil parties – Jewish organizations and the Professional Football League (LFP) –, or even of the women who came to support him sometimes vehemently during the trial, the deliberations were made in relative discretion on Wednesday.
Suspended until further notice by his club
Five days after Hamas’s unprecedented attacks against Israel on October 7 and the start of bombings on Gaza, Atal shared a video of a preacher, Mahmoud Al Hasanat, on Instagram. The latter first spoke, moved to tears, of the fate of the children of Gaza under the bombs. Then he toughened his tone and called on God to send “a dark day on the Jews”. Atal was in Algeria, with the national team, when he shared this video. Informed the next day by OGC Nice of the controversial nature of the comments, he withdrew it, with a message of apology.
At the hearing, the 27-year-old repeatedly repeated that he had wanted to send “a message of peace” and that he had not watched the video to the end before sharing it. Since it only lasts thirty-five seconds, the argument did not convince the deputy prosecutor, Meggi Choutia: “These are serious facts, which must not be trivialized. Sharing a video means taking credit for the words and giving them visibility.”
Youcef Atal, who has played for Ligue 1 club Nice since 2018, has not reappeared in the Aiglons jersey since this publication, first suspended “until further notice” by his club, then for seven matches by the LFP disciplinary committee, a sanction now served. On the other hand, he remained a starter in the Algerian team and received a lot of support in his country.