Youcef Atal est soupçonné d’avoir relayé des propos controversés sur les réseaux sociaux liés au conflit entre Israël et le mouvement palestinien Hamas. Le parquet de Nice a ouvert une enquête préliminaire pour « apologie du terrorisme », lundi 16 octobre.
The prosecutor of Nice announced on Monday the initiation of a preliminary investigation for « terrorism apology » against Youcef Atal, a football player from OGC Nice, who is suspected of sharing controversial statements on social media related to the conflict between Israel and the Palestinian movement Hamas.
Le président de la Fédération française de football, Philippe Diallo, avait annoncé, dimanche 15 octobre, avoir saisi le conseil de l’éthique après le partage par le joueur de Nice Youcef Atal d’une publication contenant des « appels à la violence », en lien avec le conflit Hamas-Israël.
La FFF condamne
Voices have been raised since Saturday, including those of the mayor of Nice, Christian Estrosi (Horizons), and the Representative Council of Jewish Institutions in France (Crif), to denounce the posting on the Instagram account of the Algerian international of a video featuring a preacher who, according to these sources, made anti-Semitic remarks inciting violence.
This publication has since been deleted by the defender of OGC Nice (L1), who then apologized, and AFP was unable to independently verify its content. In a statement, the president of FFF, Philippe Diallo, denounced « the calls for violence shared by the 27-year-old player. » « They go against the ethics of our sport and the values that football tirelessly defends, » he stated.
« I cannot reword »
The player has offered apologies.
« I am aware that my post has shocked several people, which was not my intention and I apologize for it, » the player reacted on Instagram on Sunday, adding that he wants to « clarify (his) point of view without any ambiguity: I strongly condemn all forms of violence, wherever they may occur in the world, and I support all the victims. »
« I will never support a message of hate. Peace is an ideal that I firmly believe in, » he concluded. Contacted by AFP, the public prosecutor’s office in Nice clarified that they had not been informed at this stage. As early as Saturday, in a message posted on X (formerly Twitter), Christian Estrosi had stated that he expected an apology from the player « if he allowed himself to be manipulated. » « If this is not the case, he would no longer have a place in our club, » added the mayor of Nice.
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