Algerian defender Youcef Atal received an eight month suspended sentence by a French court for inciting religious hatred online after he posted an antisemitic video connected to the Israel-Hamas war, multiple media agencies reported on January 3. 

The player was also ordered to pay €45,000 (approximately NIS 179,700) for the Instagram video and was suspended by his soccer club “until further notice,” the BBC reported.

Player apologized for the video

The 27-year-old has since deleted the post and had issued an apology the day after the post had been made. In court, Atal apologized again and claimed that he hadn’t seen the full clip before sharing so was unaware of the antisemitic content.

Atal went on to claim that he had wanted to share a “message of peace.”

"Sharing a video means being party to its message and lending it visibility," prosecutor Meggi Choutia told the court. "There is no talk of peace at any moment in these 35 seconds."