Ahmad 
Youssef Attal, a player for Algeria and French team Nice, has been given an eight-month suspended prison sentence for posting a video calling for a “black day for the Jews” in connection with the war between Hamas and Israel.
The Criminal Court of Nice also fined Attal €45,000 on charges of inciting hatred on the basis of religion and forced him to publish his conviction at his own expense in the newspapers Nice-Matin and Le Monde.
The verdict came close to what prosecutors had demanded, which wanted to convict the Algerian international defender to a 10-month suspended prison sentence and fine him 45,000 euros for posting the 35-second video.
Attal, who was called up to Algeria’s squad for the Africa Cup of Nations finals in Ivory Coast from February 13th to February 11th, defended himself by saying he had not seen the entire video and reposted it without knowing all of its contents.
“I thought it (the video) contained a message of peace to the people who are suffering in this war,” the 27-year-old said during his appearance last month at the Criminal Court in Nice, adding that he had “shared this video without watching it to the end.”
After French police arrested him in pre-trial detention last November, Attal was referred to the prosecutor’s office before being summoned to the Criminal Court in Nice.
Pending sentencing, the player was placed under judicial supervision on bail of 80,000 euros, in addition to being banned from leaving French territory, except for reasons related to his activity as a professional footballer.
Attal quickly deleted the post and apologized, but his club decided on October 18 to suspend him until further notice, while the French league disciplinary committee suspended him for seven matches on October 26.
An investigation was opened on October 16 after the Public Prosecutor’s Office was notified by the municipality of Nice on charges of “defending terrorism” and “inciting hatred or violence based on a particular religion”.