Algerian footballer Youcef Atal has become the latest Muslim footballer to be reprimanded by a European football club after France\u2019s Nice suspended him for reposting an allegedly anti-Jewish message on social media related to the ongoing Israel-Palestine conflict. The move, on Wednesday, came less than two days after French prosecutors launched a preliminary investigation into Atal on suspicion of \u201cglorifying terrorism\u201d, following complaints filed by local politicians. \u201cGiven the nature of the publication shared [by Atal], and its seriousness, the club has taken the decision to take immediate disciplinary action against the player, prior to any action that may be taken by sporting and legal authorities,\u201d the Ligue 1 club said in a statement. \u201cAs such, the club has decided to suspend Youcef Atal until further notice.\u201d Atal is suspected of sharing a video from a Palestinian preacher on Instagram, purportedly calling for violence against Jewish people. He has since deleted the message. The Nice prosecutor\u2019s office confirmed in a statement it was investigating Atal under laws covering the \u201cglorification of terrorism\u201d after being notified by local politicians. The prosecutor\u2019s office said Atal is also being investigated for \u201cpublic incitement to hatred or violence because of a particular religion\u201d. Earlier on Sunday, the French Football Federation (FFF) said its ethics committee would investigate the player, with FFF chief Philippe Diallo denouncing the contents of the post. Atal responded to the criticism on Sunday, telling his Instagram followers he would \u201cnever support a message of hate\u201d. He did not explain why he had shared the video. Nice said its directors contacted Atal as soon as he returned from duty with the Algeria national team. The club decided to suspend the player despite the defender having offered a \u201cpublic apology in writing\u201d. The 27-year-old has been playing for the club since 2018 and has made 117 appearances in various competitions. On Friday, Atal posted the Algerian and Palestinian flags next to each other following his national team\u2019s win a day earlier. Atal\u2019s suspension comes a day after German club Mainz 05 suspended Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi for a social media post about the conflict that the Bundesliga club felt was \u201cunacceptable\u201d. \u201cMainz 05 respects that there are different perspectives on the complex Middle East conflict that has been going on for decades,\u201d the club said in a statement posted on X on Tuesday. \u201cEl Ghazi took a position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that was deemed unacceptable and the club clearly distances itself from the content of the post as it does not reflect the values \u200b\u200bof our club.\u201d Dutch international El Ghazi made the comments in a \u201csince-deleted\u201d post on social media on Sunday night, Mainz said. The club did not provide further details about what El Ghazi had written in the deleted post but said, \u201cPrior to making this decision, the club and the player had engaged in an in-depth discussion.\u201d It did not indicate how long the suspension could last. Bayern Munich has also come under pressure to act over comments on the conflict by Moroccan player Noussair Mazraoui. The club said it would talk to the Moroccan international after he wished for victory for the Palestinians in a social media post. The 25-year-old posted a video on social media wishing victory to the Palestinians in the conflict with Israel. He shared a short clip in which a voice says in the style of a prayer: \u201cGod, help our oppressed brothers in Palestine to achieve victory. May God give mercy to the dead, may God heal their wounded.\u201d Former Aston Villa winger El Ghazi, who joined Mainz in September, wrote in a separate post on X on Thursday that he had \u201creceived some negative messages around my social media posts\u201d. \u201cI want to make clear that I\u2019m standing for peace above everything,\u201d the 28-year-old said. He also called for \u201cmore empathy, deepening our knowledge about the history of this conflict\u201d. Mainz\u2019s decision has been condemned by football fans on social media, where some of them questioned the club\u2019s action as El Ghazi did not call for \u201canyone to be harmed\u201d.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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