French sprinter Muhammad Abdallah Kounta, who competed for France at the Paris Olympics, was suspended by the national federation on Wednesday for posting inflammatory comments on social media.
French Sports Minister Amelie Oudea-Castera told X that the president of the French Athletics Federation (FFA) had “confirmed that he had suspended the athlete and had contacted the public prosecutor’s office and the federation’s disciplinary committee”.
She described Kounta’s messages and posts, which were particularly directed against Israel, as “as shocking as they are unacceptable”.
The messages have since been deleted.
After deactivating his X account, Kounta reactivated it to post an apology in which he introduced himself as “French, Muslim and proud.”
“People had fun scouring my tweets and taking some of my comments out of context and portraying me as anti-white, anti-French, anti-Semitic and so on,” said the 29-year-old, who competed in the men’s 4×400-meter relay and mixed relay at the 2024 Olympics.
“I sincerely apologize if anyone felt offended. 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,” he said.
When asked by AFP, the FFA did not comment specifically on the Kounta case, but on “statements made by several athletes of the French team on the occasion of the Olympic Games”, including in relation to messages of a homophobic nature published 10 years ago by middle-distance runner Hugo Hay, who also took part in the Paris Games.
“The federation reminds all athletes of the French team that the expression of their personal opinion must in no way endanger the unity of French athletics and the French team and that republican values must be respected,” the FFA said.
“It condemns the fact that athletes use the Olympic Games as an opportunity to express their personal views, some of which constitute a criminal offense,” it continues.
“For this reason, the association president has systematically contacted the relevant authorities to clarify all these facts and will continue to do so in the future.”
