Youcef Atal
![]() Atal with Nice in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Youcef Atal[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | 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 | Adana Demirspor | ||||||||||||||||
Number | 31 | ||||||||||||||||
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) | ||||||||||||||
2018–2024 | Nice | 101 | (12) | ||||||||||||||
2024– | Adana Demirspor | 11 | (1) | ||||||||||||||
International career‡ | |||||||||||||||||
2017– | Algeria | 41 | (2) | ||||||||||||||
Medal record
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*Club domestic league appearances and goals, correct as of 10:46, 31 May 2024 (UTC) ‡ National team caps and goals, correct as of 08:30, 18 June 2024 (UTC) |
Youcef Atal (Arabic: يوسف عطال; born 17 May 1996) is an Algerian professional footballer who plays as a right-back for Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor and the Algeria national team.
Club career
[edit]Atal joined French club Nice from Paradou AC in 2018. He underwent knee surgery in December 2019.[3]
On 9 February 2024, Atal signed for Turkish Süper Lig club Adana Demirspor.[4]
International career
[edit]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.[5]
In December 2023, he was named in Algeria's squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.[6]
Controversy
[edit]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]".[7] 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".[7] On 16 October, the Nice public prosecutor's office initiated a preliminary investigation into Atal on charges of "defending terrorism".[8] Two days later, OGC Nice suspended Atal until further notice after the anti-Semitic post.[9] On 25 October, he was suspended for seven matches by the Ligue de Football Professionnel for posting the message.[10]
On the 24 November, Atal was detained by French Police over the anti-Semitic posts.[11] In January 2024, Atal was convicted of inciting religious hatred and given an eight-month suspended sentence.[12]
Career statistics
[edit]International
[edit]- As of match played 10 June 2024[13]
National team | Year | Apps | Goals |
---|---|---|---|
Algeria | 2017 | 4 | 0 |
2018 | 2 | 1 | |
2019 | 12 | 0 | |
2021 | 4 | 0 | |
2022 | 7 | 1 | |
2023 | 5 | 0 | |
2024 | 7 | 0 | |
Total | 40 | 2 |
- Algeria score listed first, score column indicates score after each Atal goal.[13]
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 18 November 2018 | Stade Municipal, Lomé, Togo | 6 | ![]() |
2–0 | 4–1 | 2019 Africa Cup of Nations qualification | [14] |
2 | 27 September 2022 | Olympic Stadium, Oran, Algeria | 28 | ![]() |
2–1 | 2–1 | Friendly | [15] |
Honours
[edit]Paradou AC
Nice
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2021–22[16]
Algeria
References
[edit]- ^ "Algeria" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. 15 June 2019. p. 1. Retrieved 16 July 2019.
- ^ "Youcef Atal". OGC Nice. Retrieved 5 August 2022.
- ^ "Youcef Atal: Algeria international to have knee surgery". BBC Sport. 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Algeria's Atal signs for Turkish club after France conviction". France 24. 9 February 2024. Retrieved 9 February 2024.
- ^ M-A-D (1 June 2017). "EN : 25 joueurs convoqués par Alcaraz, beaucoup de nouveautés". DZfoot (in French). Retrieved 1 June 2017.
- ^ "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.
- ^ a b "OGC Nice's Youcef Atal apologises for anti-semitic social media post - Get French Football News". 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
- ^ "Youcef Atal: Nice and Algeria defender investigated for alleged antisemitic social media post". BBC Sport. 16 October 2023.
- ^ "Youcef Atal: Nice suspend Algeria defender for alleged antisemitic social media post". BBC Sport. 18 October 2023.
- ^ "French league suspends Atal for 7 games for sharing an antisemitic message on social media". AP News. 25 October 2023. Retrieved 26 October 2023.
- ^ "French Police detain Youcef Atal for posting social media post on Israel-Hamas war". wionews.com. 28 November 2023. Retrieved 28 December 2023.
- ^ "Youcef Atal: Nice's Algeria defender given eight-month suspended sentence for inciting religious hatred". BBC Sport. 3 January 2024. Retrieved 4 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Youcef Atal". National Football Teams. Benjamin Strack-Zimmermann. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Afcon 2019: Mahrez brace helps Algeria qualify for Nations Cup". BBC Sport. 18 November 2018. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
- ^ "Algeria vs. Nigeria - Football Match Summary". ESPN. 27 September 2022. Retrieved 27 September 2022.
- ^ "Ludovic Blas penalty wins French Cup for Nantes". BBC Sport. 7 May 2022. Retrieved 11 September 2022.
- ^ Rose, Gary (19 July 2019). "Senegal 0–1 Algeria". BBC Sport. Retrieved 31 July 2021.
External links
[edit]![](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/thumb/4/4a/Commons-logo.svg/30px-Commons-logo.svg.png)
- Youcef Atal at DZFoot.com (in French)
- Youcef Atal at Soccerway
- Youcef Atal – UEFA competition record (archive)
- Living people
- 1996 births
- People from Boghni
- Men's association football fullbacks
- Men's association football wingers
- Algeria men's international footballers
- Algerian men's footballers
- Algerian Ligue 2 players
- Belgian Third Division players
- Ligue 1 players
- CR Belouizdad players
- JS Kabylie players
- Kabyle people
- Paradou AC players
- USM Alger players
- K.V. Kortrijk players
- OGC Nice players
- Adana Demirspor footballers
- Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Belgium
- Algerian expatriate sportspeople in France
- Algerian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey
- Algerian expatriate men's footballers
- Expatriate men's footballers in Belgium
- Expatriate men's footballers in France
- Expatriate men's footballers in Turkey
- 2019 Africa Cup of Nations players
- 21st-century Algerian people
- 2021 Africa Cup of Nations players
- Antisemitism in France
- Antisemitism in Algeria
- Algerian criminals
- Sportspeople convicted of crimes
- People convicted of speech crimes
- 2023 Africa Cup of Nations players