Frederic Oumar Kanoute fined for backing Palestinians

Sevilla's Malian international striker Frederic Kanoute has been fined for displaying a t-shirt with the word "Palestine" during his side's 2-1 Spanish Cup over Deportivo La Coruna in the Spanish Cup.

The federation did not reveal the amount of the fine but Spanish media said it was between 2,000 and 3,000 euros (2,700 and 4,000 US dollars).

pix:Frederic Kanoute expresses support for Palestine after scoring goal, more pix: Kanoute facing Palestine shirt fine

Kanoute lifted his jersey to show the t-shirt with the word written in various languages after he scored in the 39th minute of Wednesday's match in an act of support for Palestinians in Gaza where an Israeli military offensive has claimed at least 785 lives since it began on December 27.

"It was something that I felt that I should do. Everyone should feel a bit responsible when there is such a big injustice. I am 100 percent responsible for what I did and I don't care about the sanction," he told private television Telecinco on Thursday.

Federation rules prevent players from displaying any sort of publicity or slogan during matches.

The federation said it was not penalizing the political nature of the message but the fact that the player had displayed a message in violation of the rules.

France-born Kanoute, a Sevilla player since a 2005 move from English Premiership side Tottenham, is a practising Muslim who has supported various humanitarian causes in the past.

In 2006 he set up a foundation to help orphans in Mali and the following year he reportedly spent around 500,000 euros (700,000 dollars) of his own money to save a privately owned mosque in Seville from being sold after a contract to use the premises by the local Muslim population had expired. -- Agence France-Presse, Saturday, 10 January 2009