Bundesliga club bans Dutch Player for supporting Palestine

German Bundesliga football club, Mainz has decided to terminate the contract of Dutch winger Anwar El Ghazi following a controversy surrounding a social media post in October that appeared to show his support for Palestine.

Anwar El Ghazi had joined Mainz on a free transfer in the summer and had played three games for the club since his arrival in Germany.

The controversy began on October 17 when the club suspended El Ghazi after he made a social media post regarding the ongoing Israel and Gaza conflict.

The post was perceived as being pro-Palestinian, and he eventually deleted it in response to the backlash it received.

On Monday, October 30, Mainz announced that they had lifted the ban placed on the player, seemingly suggesting a resolution to the issue. However, in a surprising turn of events, the club announced the termination of El Ghazi’s contract on Friday, November 3, with “immediate effect.”

In a statement released by the club, they stated,

“FSV Mainz 05 is ending the contractual relationship with Anwar El Ghazi and terminated the player with immediate effect on Friday. The club is taking this measure in response to the player’s statements and posts on social media.”

Mainz’s decision to terminate El Ghazi’s contract appears to be linked to the club’s historical connection with Israel. The club was founded by a Jewish individual named Eugen Salomon, and its stadium is currently named after him.

Tragically, Salomon was forced out of the club by the Nazis in 1933 and ultimately perished in the Holocaust in 1942, along with approximately six million other Jews, during the Holocaust perpetrated by Nazi Germany during World War Two.

Given this historical context, Mainz’s leadership considered El Ghazi’s alleged pro-Palestinian comments on social media significant enough to justify the termination of his contract.

Following the announcement of his contract termination, Anwar El Ghazi took to social media to share a quote:

“‘Stand for what is right, even if it means standing alone.'” He also expressed his perspective, saying,

“The loss of my livelihood is nothing when compared to the hell being unleashed on the innocent and vulnerable in Gaza.”