ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP Athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, here after competing in the Olympic men’s 4 x 400m relay final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on August 2, 2024.
ANNE-CHRISTINE POUJOULAT / AFP
Athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, here after competing in the Olympic men’s 4x400m relay final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on August 2, 2024.
PARIS JO – The controversy emerged on Tuesday evening, August 13, on social networks, after a tweet from the vice-president of the Île-de-France region, Patrick Karam. Relaying a publication from the X SwordOfSalomon account, the elected official denounced old tweets from the French athlete Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, present at the Paris Olympics with the men’s 4x400m and mixed 4x400m relays.
In these exhumed messages, the 29-year-old sprinter incited hatred against Israel and its Olympic athletes, or used the word ” suffering “ to talk about France.
“I have just spoken with the president of the French Athletics Federation and its general director. They will report him to the prosecutor for criminal prosecution, suspend him immediately and refer the matter to the disciplinary committee to have him permanently removed.”indicated Patrick Karam.
The resigning Minister of Sports, Amélie Oudéa-Castéra, took over by confirming the athlete’s suspension on Wednesday, August 14. “Thank you @SwordOfSalomon and Patrick Karam for your vigilance in the face of MA Kounta’s remarks, which were as shocking as they were unacceptable.”she wrote. “The President of the French Athletics Federation confirmed to me that he had suspended the athlete and contacted the Public Prosecutor and the Federation’s Disciplinary Committee.”
“I am French, Muslim and proud”
Since then, Muhammad Abdallah Kounta has reacted on his social networks, publishing two photos of himself with the French flag. “I AM FRENCH, MUSLIM AND PROUD”he wrote in the preamble to his message.
“People have had fun digging through my tweets and taking some of my comments out of context, creating a reputation for me as anti-white, anti-France, anti-Semitic, and so on. I sincerely apologize if people felt offended.”says the athlete.
“I am against genocide and any form of racism or injustice, and I don’t think I need to prove how much I love my country. The people present at the Stade de France will be able to testify to that.”he concluded.
On August 10, during the last Olympic athletics evening at the Stade de France, Muhammad Abdallah Kounta participated in the final of the men’s 4×400 m relay. In the fight for the places of honor, the French vice-world champions (also with Gilles Biron, Téo Andant and Fabrisio Saïdy) saw their last relay runner fall after a jostle, to cross the line in 9th and last position, far from the American winners.
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