Youcef Atal
![]() Atal with Nice in 2022 | |||||||||||||||||
Personal information | |||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Youcef Atal[1] | ||||||||||||||||
Date of birth | (1996-05-17) 17 May 1996 (age 28) | ||||||||||||||||
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
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
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
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
International
- 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
Paradou AC
Nice
- Coupe de France runner-up: 2021–22[16]
Algeria
References
- ^ "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
![](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)
- v
- t
- e
- 1 Aktaş
- 2 Çokçalış
- 4 Güler
- 5 Gravillon
- 6 Aydoğan
- 7 Sarı
- 8 Akbaba
- 10 Alioui
- 13 Feratovič
- 16 Çelik
- 17 Aymbetov
- 19 Kapı
- 20 Michut
- 21 Burak
- 26 Toköz
- 27 Dönmezer
- 29 Shehu
- 30 Nani
- 32 Erdoğan
- 39 Karakuş
- 56 Barası
- 60 Demirbağ
- 66 Cissé
- 71 Magomedaliyev
- 77 Nourani
- 93 Fougeu
- Atal
- Maestro
- Mendoza
- Mohammadi
- Rodríguez
- Head coach: Valkanis