Mainz Player El Ghazi Stands Firm on Pro-Palestinian Stance Despite Club Suspension

While Mainz announced on Monday that El Ghazi "regretted his message," the player says he has nothing to retract from his statements. "My position remains the same. I am against war and violence, against the killing of innocent civilians, against discrimination, against Islamophobia, against anti-Semitism, against genocide, against apartheid, against occupation and against oppression. I do not regret my position and I do not distance myself from what I said. I will defend humanity and the oppressed until my last breath. I don’t have to justify myself to anyone," he insisted on Wednesday.

El Ghazi claims he has never denied his statements and that they have been misinterpreted. "We can never justify that more than 3,500 children have been killed in Gaza in the last three weeks. How can we, as human beings, remain silent when, according to ’Save the Children’, a child is killed every 10 minutes. That’s nine children while I’m playing a game. And this number is increasing every day. I and the rest of the world must not remain silent. We must call on people to end the killings in Gaza."

Arrived at Mainz last summer after a short stay at PSV Eindhoven, El Ghazi was suspended by the club after his first pro-Palestinian message. His situation at Mainz is now critical after his Wednesday statement. "Mainz is surprised and does not understand the statements of Anwar El Ghazi," the club said, stating that it intends to examine "the case from a legal point of view" before making a decision about him. According to the German newspaper Bild, a complaint has been filed against him for incitement to hatred and trivialization of criminal acts.

Since the beginning of the week, El Ghazi has been "sick" and has not participated in training sessions, according to his club. He was also absent for Wednesday night’s Bundesliga match against Hertha BSC. For the record, the Moroccan defender of Bayern Munich, Noussair Mazraoui, had also been criticized for a pro-Palestinian message. A complaint has also been filed against him by the former Green MP, Volker Beck.