Suspended by OGC Nice and French football, Youcef Atal was selected to play in the African Cup of Nations with the Algeria jersey.
In a difficult situation in France, Youcef Atal will be able to think of something else during the African Cup of Nations, which will kick off on January 13 in Ivory Coast. The Algerian right-back was selected by Djamel Belmadi, the Fennecs coach, for the big continental meeting, unlike striker Andy Delort.
2023 #DesertWarriors #1 2 3 long live Algeria🇩🇿 pic.twitter.com/Z7x7aRkVsT
— Algerian football team (@LesVerts) December 29, 2023
Youcef Atal was suspended by his club, OGC Nice, for having shared on social networks the post of a preacher with anti-Semitic remarks, after the Hamas attack against Israel on October 7. The courts were seized and sent to a trial with the heads of “ incitement to hatred on grounds of religion “.
On December 18, the Nice court requested a 10-month suspended prison sentence, a 45,000 euro fine and a broadcast of the sentence on his Instagram account against the 27-year-old player. The decision was reserved for January 3, 2024.
“I shared the video because I thought it was a message of peace, I regret not watching until the end,” Youcef Atal defended himself during the hearing, in comments reported by France 3.
