A 27-year-old international defender — Youcef Atal — who plays for OGC Nice — quickly deleted his post and apologized but the prosecution nevertheless opened an investigation.
Atal was released on Friday with a court summons for December 18 after being held in police custody Thursday.
Pending the hearing, he was placed under judicial supervision with a bail of 80,000 euros (about $88,000) and prohibited from leaving French territory, except for reasons linked to his activity as a footballer.
A few days after the Hamas attack on October 7 against Israel and the start of Israeli bombings in the Gaza Strip, the footballer caused an outcry by sharing the video of a preacher first moved by the fate children from Gaza on his Instagram account, then making virulent remarks against Israel.
According to a statement from the prosecutor's office — in this video — preacher Mahmoud Al Hasanat called on God to send "a black day on the Jews" and to "accompany the hand" of the inhabitants of Gaza if they "throw the stone."
On October 16, the prosecution opened a preliminary investigation into advocating terrorism and inciting hatred based on religion. At the end of the investigation, only the second count was retained.
The player's lawyer did not wish to comment on ongoing proceedings when contacted by AFP.
The International League against Racism and Anti-Semitism, or Licra, and the Jewish Observatory of France have joined as civil parties.
Shortly after the investigation was opened, Atal was suspended until further notice by his club.
Despite the player's apologies, OGC Nice explained its choice "taking into account the nature of the shared publication and its seriousness."
The disciplinary committee of the French Professional Football League — for its part — imposed a seven-match suspension on him.
Youcef Atal was starting with Algeria when the scandal broke and he was still there for the two qualifying matches for the World Cup, winning against Somalia on November 16 (3-1) and in Mozambique on Sunday (2 -0).
His national team teammate Sofiane Feghouli gave him his support on Friday highlighting the difficulty Atal has faced since deleting the post, citing his "suspension" from games.
The war between Israel and Hamas — which entered its 49th day on Friday — was triggered by the bloody attack by the Palestinian militant group which killed 1,200 Israeli’s — mostly civilians — on October 7 in southern Israeli.
More than 14,854 people have been killed in Israeli bombings on the Gaza Strip since the October 7, including 6,150 children and 4,000 women, according to Palestinian officials.
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