The German football club Mainz 05 has terminated the contract of Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi over his social media posts, in which he declared his support for Palestine against Israel in the ongoing war.
In a statement issued on Friday, November 3, Mainz said that they were “ending the contractual relationship with Anwar El Ghazi and terminated the player with immediate effect.”
Mainz also clarified that they were “taking this action in response to the player’s statements and posts on social media.”
“Stand for what is right, even if it means standing alone,” El Ghazi said on X after his termination.
“The loss of my livelihood is nothing when compared to the hell being unleashed on the innocent and vulnerable in Gaza,” he added.
On October 17, the club suspended El Ghazi over the post.
In a now-deleted Instagram post, 28-year-old El Ghazi had said, “This is not war. When one side cuts off water, food and electricity on another then it’s not war. When one side has nuclear weapons then it’s not war. When one side is getting funded with billions of dollars then it’s not war.”
He continued, “When one side uses AI pictures to spread misinformation about another then it’s not war. When social media is censoring the content of one side and not the other then it’s not war. This isn’t a conflict and it’s not war.”
“This is genocide and mass destruction and we’re witnessing it happen live. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” he added.
On October 30, Mainz lifted the ban and gave him a second chance, saying it spoke of all forms of terrorism, including from Hamas, or questioning Israel’s right to exist.
But El Ghazi on Wednesday, November 1, took to social media again to say “I do not regret or have any remorse for my position. Any other statements, comments or apologies to the contrary attributed to me are not factually correct and have not been made or authorised by me.”
Israel launched a massive retaliatory strike against Gaza’s Hamas after its fighters carried out the October 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,400 people, and more than 9,200 people were killed in Gaza.
