Dutch Footballer Anwar El Ghazi Sues Mainz 05 Over Pro-Palestinian Post Dismissal

Anwar El Ghazi does not digest his dismissal by Mainz 05. According to German media, he has taken legal action to contest it. His contract which runs until 2025 was terminated by the German club because of his pro-Palestinian Instagram posts. While the club’s leaders were putting pressure on him to retract his posts, the 28-year-old player remained true to himself, to his principles. "I remain faithful to my words, supporting humanity and the oppressed until my last breath," he wrote on the same social network.

In another post, he reaffirmed his commitment to the Palestinian cause. "Defending what is right, even alone. The loss of my job cannot be compared to the horror experienced by the innocents of Gaza. Stop these killings." El Ghazi will be defended by Alexander Bergweiler, a lawyer specializing in labor law and sports law, reports the Allgemeine Zeitung. "I don’t see any statement in the new post that doesn’t fall under freedom of expression," he told the press two weeks ago.

"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." The publication by the 28-year-old player of this famous slogan on Instagram and the one in which he had estimated that the situation in Palestine was "a genocide and mass destruction" had earned him a suspension for an indefinite period. "Mainz has decided to exclude Anwar El Ghazi from training and matches," the Bundesliga club had announced in a press release, assuring that it had made this decision following a "thorough discussion" with the interested party.