Information reaching Kossyderrickent has it that Anwar El-Ghazi has been banned from training and participating in matches by German club Mainz after he supported Palestine on social media.
Hamas fighters killed 1,300 Israelis on Oct. 7 in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israel’s history while Israel responded with intensive air strikes that have killed more than 2,800 Palestinians.
“Mainz 05 respects that there are different perspectives on the complex Middle East conflict that has been going on for decades,” the club said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.
Mainz suspended Anwar El Ghazi on Wednesday evening after he “took a position on the ongoing conflict in the Middle East”.
El Ghazi, who only joined Mainz in September, angered the Bundesliga club by sharing a pro-Palestine post on his Instagram story. Israel is currently at war with Hamas, the terrorist group governing the Gaza Strip of the Palestinian territories.
Former Aston Villa winger El Ghazi wrote in a separate post on X on Thursday that he had “received some negative messages around my social media posts”.
“I want to make clear that I’m standing for peace above everything,” the 28-year-old said. He also called for “more empathy, deepening our knowledge about the history of this conflict.”
Mainz are 17th and second to last in the Bundesliga with two points after seven matches.
The former Aston Villa winger deleted the post, but Mainz have still acted. A statement read: “Mainz 05 releases Anwar El Ghazi from training and games. The exemption is a response to a now-deleted social media post by the 28-year-old on Sunday evening.
“In this, El Ghazi had taken a position on the conflict in the Middle East that was intolerable for the club. The release was preceded by a detailed discussion between the board and the player.
