NICE, France (AP) 鈥 The French soccer league suspended Nice defender Youcef Atal for seven matches on Wednesday after he shared an antisemitic message on social media.
Nice had already suspended Atal last week until further notice and said that he apologized for his actions. After the matter was reviewed by the French soccer federation鈥檚 ethics committee, the French league鈥檚 disciplinary commission suspended Atal.
Atal鈥檚 suspension comes after the Nice public prosecutor鈥檚 office opened a preliminary investigation targeting Atal on charges 鈥渙f defending terrorism鈥 for sharing the message online. The prosecutor鈥檚 office said Atal is also being investigated for 鈥減ublic incitement to hatred or violence because of a particular religion.鈥
The 27-year-old Atal, who also plays for Algeria鈥檚 national team, apologized after reportedly reposting and then deleting a video in which a Palestinian preacher made an antisemitic statement.
Writing on Instagram, Atal said he understood that his post was shocking to some people and said he condemns all forms of violence, 鈥渘o matter where in the world.鈥
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