Joe
Barely after a week the Paris 2024 Olympics ended, Mohammad Abdallah Kounta, a French 400-meter runner who competed in the Paris Olympics, has been suspended by the French Athletics Federation peaknews.ng reports.
His suspension which was announced by France’s Sports Minister, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, on Wednesday came following the discovery of hate speech on his social media.
The decision to suspend Kounta came after an X (formerly Twitter) account named Sword of Solomon revealed several tweets from the athlete dating back to between 2021 and 2024, in which Kounta expressed hatred towards Israel. The revelations have sparked significant controversy.
“The Federation’s president has confirmed the suspension of the athlete and has referred the case to both the public prosecutor and the Federation’s disciplinary committee,” Oudéa-Castéra stated on X.
In response to the controversy, Kounta posted a picture of himself draped in a French flag on his social media accounts, expressing regret for any offense caused by his previous comments.
“I’m against genocides and all forms of racism or injustice, and I don’t think I need to prove how much I love my country. Those who were present at the Stade de France can attest to that,” Kounta wrote.
The French Athletics Federation has yet to comment further on the case as it awaits the outcomes of the investigations.
