Anwar El Ghazi: FSV Mainz's sponsors supported club's decision to fire player after Palestine posts
A Dutch footballer of Moroccan descent has said that companies sponsoring a German team in the Bundesliga had supported the club's decision to fire him after he posted in support of Palestine on social media, according to documents filed in a German court.
FSV Mainz suspended Anwar El Ghazi on 17 October after he made a post in support of Palestinians in Gaza when Israel turned off water and electricity supplies to the besieged enclave, 10 days after the Hamas-led surprise attack, after which Israel launched its ongoing deadly bombing campaign.
Ghazi then apologised for his comments and made another post where he condemned violence against all civilians from both sides.
Mainz initially lifted Ghazi’s suspension and released a statement, claiming that the 28-year-old “regretted” his comments and did not question “Israel’s right to exist”.
But Ghazi publicly responded and said Mainz released the statement without his permission.
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Despite his apology, FSV Mainz terminated its contract with Ghazi on 4 November and demanded he pay £450,000 to help the club find a replacement for him, according to German court documents.
Ghazi responded to the termination of his contract with the following statement: “Stand for what is right, even if it means standing alone.
"The loss of my livelihood is nothing when compared to the hell being unleashed on the innocent and vulnerable in Gaza #stopthekilling."
Sponsors supported suspension
The court documents filed in Germany by Ghazi’s lawyers show correspondence with three sponsors and the club, including an Israeli company, praising the club’s decision to suspend Ghazi before they terminated his contract.
The three companies named in the German court documents submitted by Ghazi’s lawyers include Italian sports company Lotto; eToro, headquartered in Tel-Aviv; and Mewa, a German textiles company that sponsors the club’s stadium.
“In WhatsApp messages dated 16 October 2023, Mr Martin from Lotto RLP asked for information and further clarification as quickly as possible and stated in a telephone call on 17 October 2023 that the club would probably have been ‘turned its back on’ if it had decided against releasing El Ghazi,” said court documents, seen by Middle East Eye.
“Max Grillmaier from eTORO made a similarly decisive statement. The issue was also discussed internally at the stadium's name sponsor, ‘MEWA’, "very critically scrutinised".
“Felix Hermann from ‘MEWA’ also proactively raised the issue with Mainz 05. Overall, 'MEWA' was very positive about the club's reaction.”
The court documents also indicate that Mainz’s sponsorship deal was worth more than a million euros, Lotto’s sponsorship worth 800,000 euros, and eToro’s sponsorship was worth 390,000 euros.
Middle East Eye approached Ghazi’s representatives and his lawyers. Both declined to comment.
A representative from FSV Mainz did not respond to the claims and said it could not comment on an ongoing legal case.
A spokesperson for eToro denied the claims made in the court papers and said: “There is no truth whatsoever to the claims made about eToro or any of our employees exerting pressure on FSV Mainz in relation to the suspension of one of their players."
The spokesperson added: "Whilst all of our football club partners are well aware of our values as a business, it is not our role to influence decisions within the football clubs that we work with.”
Ghazi, who has played for Holland twice, signed a deal to play for FSV Mainz last September.
The 28-year-old previously played for PSV Eindhoven in the Netherlands. Before that, Ghazi played for Aston Villa, where he scored the winning goal against Derby that helped them get promoted to the Premier League.
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