Youcef Atal
Atal with Nice in 2022
Personal information
Full name Youcef Atal[1]
Date of birth (1996-05-17) 17 May 1996
Place of birth Boghni, Algeria
Height 1.76 m (5 ft 9 in)[2]
Position(s) Right-back
Team information
Current team
 Nice
Number 20
Youth career
2006–2008 CR Belouizdad
2008–2011 JS Kabylie
2011–2012 USM Alger
2012–2014 JS Kabylie
2014–2015 Paradou AC
Senior career*
Years Team Apps (Gls)
2015–2018 Paradou AC 46 (5)
2017–2018 → Kortrijk (loan) 10 (0)
2018– Nice 117 (12)
International career‡
2017– Algeria 35 (2)
Medal record
Men's football
Representing  Algeria
Africa Cup of Nations
Winner2019 Egypt
*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 3 October 2023
‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 9 January 2024 (UTC)

Youcef Atal (Arabic: يوسف عطال; born 17 May 1996) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Ligue 1 club Nice and the Algeria national team.

Club career

Atal joined French club Nice from Paradou AC in 2018. He underwent knee surgery in December 2019.[3]

International career

On 1 June 2017, Atal was called up to the Algeria national team for the first time for a friendly match against Guinea and a 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Togo.[4]

In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[5]

Controversy

On 14 October 2023, amidst the 2023 Israel–Hamas war, Atal posted a video on social media of Palestinian preacher Mahmoud al-Hasanat asking God to "send Jewish people a dark day". He quickly removed the video after receiving criticism, notably from Nice mayor Christian Estrosi, who stated that unless Atal "denounces Hamas terrorists, he no longer has a place at [OGC Nice]".[6] Atal subsequently published a message on Instagram apologizing for posting the video, and clarified his beliefs by stating that he "denounce[s] all forms of violence".[6] On 16 October, the Nice public prosecutor's office initiated a preliminary investigation into Atal on charges of "defending terrorism".[7] Two days later, OGC Nice suspended Atal until further notice after the anti-semitic post.[8] On 25 October, he was suspended for seven matches by the Ligue de Football Professionnel for posting an anti-semitic message.[9]

On the 24 November, Atal was detained by French Police over the anti-semitic posts.[10] In January 2024, Atal was convicted of inciting religious hatred and given an eight-month suspended sentence.[11]

Career statistics

International

As of match played 19 November 2022[12]
Appearances and goals by national team and year
National teamYearAppsGoals
Algeria 201740
201821
2019120
202140
202271
Total292
Scores and results list Algeria's goal tally first.[12]
International goals by date, venue, cap, opponent, score, result and competition
No. Date Venue Cap Opponent Score Result Competition Ref.
1 18 November 2018Stade Municipal, Lomé, Togo6 Togo2–04–12019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[13]
2 27 September 2022Olympic Stadium, Oran, Algeria28 Nigeria2–12–1Friendly[14]

Honours

Paradou AC

Nice

Algeria

References

  1. ↑ "Algeria" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 15 June 2019. p. 1. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
  2. ↑ "Youcef Atal". OGC Nice. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
  3. ↑ "Youcef Atal: Algeria international to have knee surgery". BBC Sport. 8 December 2019.
  4. ↑ M-A-D (1 June 2017). "EN : 25 joueurs convoqués par Alcaraz, beaucoup de nouveautés". DZfoot (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2017.
  5. ↑ "CAN 2024 : L'Algérie Dévoile sa Liste Officielle – Qui Sont les Fennecs Prêts à Conquérir l'Afrique ?" (in French). Algérie-Focus. 30 December 2023. Retrieved 12 January 2024.
  6. 1 2 "OGC Nice's Youcef Atal apologises for anti-semitic social media post - Get French Football News". 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  7. ↑ "Youcef Atal: Nice and Algeria defender investigated for alleged antisemitic social media post". BBC Sport. 16 October 2023.
  8. ↑ "Youcef Atal: Nice suspend Algeria defender for alleged antisemitic social media post". BBC Sport. 18 October 2023.
  9. ↑ "French league suspends Atal for 7 games for sharing an antisemitic message on social media". AP News. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
  10. ↑ "French Police detain Youcef Atal for posting social media post on Israel-Hamas war". wionews.com. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
  11. ↑ "Youcef Atal: Nice's Algeria defender given eight-month suspended sentence for inciting religious hatred". BBC Sport. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
  12. 1 2 "Youcef Atal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  13. ↑ "Afcon 2019: Mahrez brace helps Algeria qualify for Nations Cup". BBC Sport. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
  14. ↑ "Algeria vs. Nigeria - Football Match Summary". ESPN. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
  15. ↑ "Ludovic Blas penalty wins French Cup for Nantes". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
  16. ↑ Rose, Gary (19 July 2019). "Senegal 0–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
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