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Arsenal Star Özil Sparks China Backlash Over Uyghur Muslim Comments
Monday 16 December 2019, by
The German international of Turkish origin, Mesut Özil, has strongly condemned the repression of the Muslim minority in China. He thus provoked the anger of the authorities and the disappointment of Chinese viewers, resulting in the withdrawal of the broadcast of the English Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City from the Chinese public channel CCTV.
On social networks, Mesut Özil did not mince his words. He openly criticized the Chinese government for the repression and openly attacked the Muslim community for its silence in the face of this absurdity.
According to him, Korans are burned, mosques destroyed, Islamic schools banned, religious intellectuals killed one after the other, the German player had also expressed outrage by recalling that the young people forcibly sent to camps were subjected to inhuman atrocities.
"Muslims remain silent. We don’t hear their voice," he had also denounced in his message, with the flag of what the Uyghurs call East Turkestan in the background.
China’s reaction was immediate. The Chinese public channel CCTV has removed the English Premier League match between Arsenal and Manchester City, scheduled for last Sunday at 5:30 pm, from its programming.
The Arsenal-Manchester City clash was initially supposed to be broadcast live by CCTV, but the Chinese channel decided to cancel it "after Özil’s erroneous comments on Xinjiang disappointed Chinese fans and football authorities," the media justified.
As for Arsenal, the club of the Turkish professional, it distanced itself from Ozil’s remarks, stating that the club has "always adhered to the principle of not getting involved in politics," the same source said.