French club, OGC Nice, suspended one of it player, Youcef Atal on Wednesday after he shared a social media post linked to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas, according to AFP report.
The Algerian international player reportedly shared a video of Palestinian preacher Mahmoud al-Hasanat, who asked God to “send Jewish people a dark day.”
The post was quickly deleted, and the 27-year-old apologized, saying he would “never support a message of hate”.
Nice said in a statement, that “OGC Nice understands that the player acknowledged his mistake by quickly removing the sharing of the publication and offered his written and public apologise.
“Nevertheless, given the nature of the shared publication and its seriousness, the club took the decision to immediately take the first disciplinary sanctions against the player, prior to those that could be decided by the sports and judicial authorities. As such, the club has decided to suspend Youcef Atal until further notice.”
At the start of the week, French prosecutors had launched a preliminary investigation into the Algerian on suspicion of “glorifying terrorism.”
This development comes just a day after a German club, Mainz, suspended Dutchman Anwar El Ghazi for a pro-Palestinian social media post containing the statement: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”, Reuters report.
This statement has been linked to territorial claims over Palestinian territories, and the German public prosecutor’s office has classified it as a potential criminal offense concerning Israel’s right to exist.
Although El Ghazi is not under investigation, Mainz took action by relieving him of training and matchday-related duties.
A statement from the club read: “FSV Mainz 05 have relieved Anwar El Ghazi of his training and matchday-related duties. The decision comes as a result of a since-deleted social media post from the 28-year-old that appeared on Sunday evening. In the post, El Ghazi took a position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that was deemed unacceptable by the club.
“Prior to making this decision, the club and the player had engaged in an in-depth discussion. Mainz 05 respect the fact that there are varying perspectives on the decades-long, complex conflict in the Middle East. However, the club are distancing themselves from the content of the social media post in question, as it does not align with the values of the club.”
The post has since been deleted.