Mainz 05: Critical Palestine posts – professional player El-Ghazi terminated

FSV Mainz 05 has terminated the contract with professional footballer Anwar El Ghazi after his pro-Palestinian posts on social media. The Dutchman was “terminated with immediate effect” on Friday, the Bundesliga club said in a short statement on Friday evening. A few hours earlier, sports director Christian Heidel had described the process surrounding the clearly criticized contributions as a “highly political issue”.

The Koblenz Public Prosecutor’s Office confirmed to the German Press Agency on Friday that investigations had been started against the 28-year-old. “According to our assessment, there is initial suspicion against the accused of disturbing the public peace by endorsing crimes in conjunction with incitement to hatred by disseminating content,” said the public prosecutor’s office. It is the presumption of innocence. El Ghazi was contacted for comment. The “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” initially reported.

In mid-October, after the attack on Israel by terrorists on behalf of Hamas on October 7, El Ghazi wrote in an Instagram post that was then deleted: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What is meant is that Palestine should extend from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. This, in a sense, denies Israel its right to exist. A suspension initially followed before the professional was allowed to briefly return to the squad after a conversation with the club in which, according to a statement, he distanced himself from his statements.

Mainz 05: El Ghazi contradicts the club’s statement

El Ghazi then surprisingly denied the claim that he had backed away from his contribution. He did not authorize the association’s statement on this. “I do not distance myself from what I said and stand for humanity and on the side of the oppressed until the last day I breathe,” El Ghazi wrote on the social network. According to the club, he was missing from the squad during the week of the cup game at Hertha BSC (0:3) because he was on sick leave. El Ghazi only moved to Rheinhessen in September as a previously out-of-contract professional.

Before the club’s announcement, Heidel announced that he would no longer make any statements on the topic. “I think each of you has noticed by now: This has nothing to do with football and sport anymore. This is a highly political issue. This is a legal and labor law issue,” he said during a press conference. “This is a case that has never happened before at Mainz 05. I deeply regret it. But nobody at Mainz 05 can do anything about it.”