After suspending Dutch forward Anwar El Ghazi on October 17 over a social media post about the Israel-Hamas war, German football club Mainz said on Monday that it is lifting the suspension. Mainz said El Ghazi has been given a reprimand and will return to training and be available to play soon. The Bundesliga club had suspended him over what it called an “unacceptable” Instagram post and he was not in the squad for the previous two league games. (Football News)
Writing on Instagram stories last week, El Ghazi had said: "I condemn the killing of all innocent civilians in Palestine and Israel. My sympathies are with the innocent victims of this conflict irrespective of their nationality. I am committed to a peaceful and integrated Middle East region. To the extent my previous statements on social media have been misunderstood, I would like to make clear that I stand for peace and humanity for all."
Mainz said on Monday that El Ghazi had “distanced” himself from the post in conversations with the club's management. "The club's board made it clear to Anwar El Ghazi that employees of the club are bound to a code of values. Implicit in this code of values is a special responsibility to the state of Israel and the Jewish people, not only due to past events in German history, but also stemming from the shared history with one of FSV's founding members and member of the Jewish community, Eugen Salomon."
The 28-year-old El Ghazi, who previously played for PSV Eindhoven, Aston Villa and Everton, joined Mainz last month. He has made three appearances as a substitute for the team.
Mainz currently stand at the very bottom in the Bundesliga 2023-24 season and their next game is at Hertha Berlin in the German Cup on Wednesday.
