Footballers suspended for posts on Israel-Hamas war

Ligue 1 team Nice suspended Algerian international Youcef Atal on Wednesday after he shared a social media post linked to the war between Israel and the Palestinian Islamist group Hamas.

Atal reportedly shared a video from Palestinian preacher Mahmoud al-Hasanat, who asked God to "send Jewish people a dark day."

The post was quickly deleted, and the 27-year-old apologized, saying he would "never support a message of hate".

Nice said in a statement, though, that, given the seriousness of the post, the club would "take immediate disciplinary action against the player, prior to any action that may be taken by sporting and legal authorities."

At the start of the week, French prosecutors had launched a preliminary investigation into the Algerian on suspicion of "glorifying terrorism."

This news comes just a day after Bundesliga club Mainz suspended Dutchman Anwar El Ghazi for a pro-Palestinian social media post that allegedly including the statement: "From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free."

The statement has been used to assert territorial claims over the borders of the Palestinian territories. Germany's public prosecutor's office recently told the German Press Agency that they now classify the sentence a criminal offense because they believe it to be potentially seditious regarding Israel's right to exist. 

While Germany's public prosecutor's office comments were in general and El Ghazi is not being investigated, Mainz still felt it had to act.

"El Ghazi took a position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East that was deemed unacceptable by the club," the club said in a statement.

Beforehand, the club say they spoke to the player and that it respects the fact there are a variety of perspectives on the "complex conflict in the Middle East" but that it is "distancing themselves from the content of the post" because "it does not align with the values of the club."

The post has since been deleted.

Footballers take to social media

Atal and El Ghazi are the first to be suspended by clubs for their posts, but not the first footballers to express themselves about the war.

Earlier this month, Bayern Munich and Morocco defenderNoussair Mazraoui shared a pro-Palestinian post. The defending Bundesliga champions are to set to speak to Mazraoui once he returns from international duty.

jh/km (AFP, Reuters, dpa)