After sharing a post giving personal opinions related to the war between Palestine and Israel on Instagram, defender Youcef Atal was indefinitely suspended internally by parent club OGC Nice. This action is considered unreasonable and goes against the views of the French team.
Youcef Atal was suspended for 7 matches by LFP in Ligue 1.
Although the player born in 1997 deleted the post and apologized, the LFP and the Nice prosecutors did not let it go easily. Authorities investigated Youcef Atal for “tolerating terrorism”. Nice Mayor Christian Estrosi criticized the player, calling on him to “denounce the Hamas terrorists”.
The anti-Semitic post was shared while Youcef Atal gathered with the national team. Returning to Nice, he was suspended indefinitely from the club. After the match against Olympique de Marseille, LFP officially imposed a 7-match suspension in Ligue 1 for the Algerian player for the above behavior.
Youcef Atal is a mainstay in the OGC Nice defense.
OGC Nice also completely agrees with the penalty from LFP. The club did not appeal and accepted the loss of a key player in the defense until the end of 2023. Internal investigations are still continuing, and the team’s leadership is even ready to liquidate the contract with Youcef Atal.
Huy Truong | 12:41 October 27, 2023
