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French athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, who took part in Paris Olympics 2024, suspended for anti-Israel social media posts
Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, a French 400-meter runner who took part in the 2024 Paris Olympics, has been suspended by the French Athletics Federation. This comes after his old social media posts resurfaced online.
An X account dug up some old tweets posted by Kounta between 2021 and 2024, where the athlete professed hatred for Israel, among other things. This led to a lot of backlash online, prompting the concerned authorities to step in and take action.
French Minister of Sports Amelie Oudea-Castera confirmed that Kounta has been suspended by the French Athletics Federation (FFA) and has contacted the public prosecutor as well as the disciplinary commission of the federation.
“The Federation’s president confirmed he has suspended the athlete and referred the matter both to the public prosecutor and to the Federation’s disciplinary committee,” Amelie Oudea-Castera said on X (formerly Twitter).
Israel's ongoing war against Palestine meant that its delegation at the Summer Games, which ended on Sunday (August 11), was guarded round the clock by a security detail due to threats against them.
Muhammad Abdallah Kounta defends himself, says posts taken out of context
Immediately after his past social media posts went viral, Muhammad Abdallah Kounta deactivated his X account even as the news of his suspension broke out.
He later reactivated his account and issued an apology. He also stated that his posts were taken out of context and that he was against all forms of racism and injustice.
"People had fun digging through my tweets and taking some of my comments out of context, portraying me as anti-white, anti-France, anti-Semitic, and so on. I sincerely apologize if anyone felt offended. I am against genocides and any form of racism or injustice, and I don't think I need to prove how much I love my country," he said.
The FFA, on the other hand, refused to comment specifically about Kounta but stated that the federation would take necessary action against any athlete if deemed necessary.
"The federation reminds all athletes of the French team that the expression of their personal opinions must in no way jeopardize the unity of French athletics and the French team, and must respect republican values," the FFA said.
"It condemns the fact that athletes take the Olympic celebration as an opportunity to expose their personal ideas, some of which constitute an offence. This is why the president of the federation has systematically contacted," it added.
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