Youssef Atal was sentenced to prison in France for supporting Gaza

On Wednesday evening, a Nice court approved an 8-month suspended prison sentence for Youssef Atal, on charges of incitement to hatred.

The origin of the story goes back to the Algerian star posting a status on Instagram in which he supports Gaza against the mob war waged against it.

As a result, the French League suspended Atal for 7 matches, and then his club suspended him indefinitely.

The case was referred to the French judiciary, which in turn sentenced the player to an 8-month suspended prison sentence and a fine of 45,000 euros.

Atal has the right to appeal this ruling within a maximum period of 10 days.

Atal is currently with the Algerian national team in Togo, preparing to compete in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations in Côte d'Ivoire in mid-January.

This ruling did not affect Atal in any way with his country, and most likely he will only write his end with Nice and may leave in the current winter Mercato to another club outside France.

It is noteworthy that Atal is not the only Arab player who suffered from supporting the Palestinian cause, as Anwar Al-Ghazi’s contract with German Mainz was terminated for the same reason.