France arrests Nice footballer Youcef Atal over social media post on Gaza conflict: Report

By Can Erozden

ANKARA (AA) – Police in France arrested Nice footballer Youcef Atal for sharing a social media post in the backdrop of the Gaza conflict, local media reported on Friday.

The Nice-Matin daily said that the 27-year-old Algerian defender was arrested for "provoking racial hatred on grounds of religion."

The Nice prosecutor opened an investigation on Oct. 16.

Atal, who won the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations with Algeria, shared an Instagram video in October in which a Palestinian preacher prayed to the God to send "a black day for the Jews" amid the Israeli war on Gaza.

Then Nice right-back Atal apologized but was suspended by the club for the Gaza post.

The French league also banned him for seven matches.

Having 29 caps for Algeria, Atal joined Nice from Belgium's Kortrijk in 2018 to score 12 goals in 115 appearances.

Israel has launched relentless air and ground attacks in the Gaza Strip following the Hamas attack, killing more than 14,854 Palestinians, including 6,150 children and over 4,000 women, according to health authorities in the enclave.