French Olympian Abdallah Kounta suspended for anti-Israel tweets

French Athletics Federation suspended Olympian Muhammad Abdallah Kounta for posting anti-Israel tweets on his X account. Abdallah competed recently in a 400-meter race on behalf of France in the Paris Olympics 2024.

The President of the French Athletics Federation, Amelie Oudea-Castera confirmed the suspension of Abdallah. She referred the case of a Muslim athlete to the public prosecutor and disciplinary committee of the Federation for inciting hate speech through his tweets.

Merci @SwordOfSalomon et @karampatrick pour votre vigilance face aux propos aussi choquants qu’inadmissibles de M.A. Kounta.
Le Président de la @FFAthletisme m’a confirmé avoir suspendu l’athlète, saisi le Procureur de la République ainsi que la Commission de discipline de la… https://t.co/eCEqMADFBZ
— Amélie Oudéa-Castéra (@AOC1978) August 14, 2024

This legal action came after Twitter X account Sword of Salomon highlighted some posts tweeted by Abdallah between 2021 and 20204. He appeared to express hateful remarks against Israel and Jews in controversial tweets.

Abdallah retweeted a post during the Gaza war while praying to Allah Almighty to strike the “Zionists” and ridiculing Shiri Bibas. They refer to 251 Israeli people kidnapped during Hamas’ attack on southern Israel on Oct 7, 2023.

🚨🎉 Suspension immédiate de Muhammad Abdallah Kounta par la @FFAthletisme !

Merci à @karampatrick, vice-président du conseil régional @iledefrance chargé des sports, pour son intervention décisive auprès de @PresidentFFA 👏🏻

En attente d’un communiqué officiel de la fédération… https://t.co/7IBqMnGMFX
— SwordOfSalomon (@SwordOfSalomon) August 13, 2024

This attack reportedly claimed almost 1,200 lives and sparked conflict in Gaza. Since then, approximately 41,000 Palestinians have lost lives including the majority of children and women.

Israeli media reported that Abdallah retweeted an image of Israeli Judok Sagi Muki wearing an army uniform on August 1, 2024, during the Olympics. He called him a “child killer.”

Following this, the French Athletics Federation suspended Olympian Muhammad Abdallah Kounta for inciting hatred and spreading anti-semitism online.

View this post on Instagram
A post shared by Muhammad Abdallah Kounta (@misryyy)

Click here to read the updates on FIFA’s postponed decision on Palestine’s request to suspend Israel

However, Abdallah shared a photo of himself wrapped in a French flag on his social media accounts. He apologized if he offended someone in the aftermath of his tweets’ uproar.

Abdallah stated he opposed genocides, bigotry, and injustice in all forms of racial discrimination. He doesn’t believe he has to show his love for the French nation.

He also said people who were at the Stade de France to enjoy the Paris Olympic games can witness this fact. Stade de France was the location of sports events held at the Paris Olympic Games 2024.