Youcef Atal has been sentenced to a suspended prison sentence of eight months in France. The defender of OGC Nice posted what the court said was an anti-Semitic video on his Instagram account in October. In addition, the Algerian must pay a fine of 45,000 euros.

At the beginning of October, 27-year-old Atal posted a statement about the conflict between Israel and Hamas, wishing 'Jewish people a dark day'. Atal apologized and stated that he had not fully watched the posted 35-second video.

Atal responded in early October, during the international football break, via social media to the war that had broken out between Israel and Hamas. The Algerian defender shared a video of a Palestinian preacher addressing God. The anti-Semitic statement was heard in the video.

In mid-December, Atal defended himself in court for sharing the controversial post. “I shared the video because I thought it was a message of peace and that people are suffering during this war.”

Atal said he was not aware of the anti-Semitic message in the video. “I regret not watching it to the end,” he said in response to questions from the prosecutor.

Nice already suspended Atal indefinitely, while the French Football Federation banned him for seven matches. The man has not played for his club since October 1, but has played several times for Algeria. In mid-December, he was in the starting line-up twice in the World Cup qualifiers against Somalia and Mozambique.

Atal, who was 'normally' included in the Africa Cup selection, will actually have to go to prison for a new similar offence.

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