German Bundesliga club, Mainz have lifted the ban placed on their Dutch winger, Anwar El Ghazi over his social media post regarding the ongoing Israel-Gaza conflict.
Recall that Mainz suspended the 28-year-old El Ghazi on October 16 from participating in the club’s team training and games after sharing a social media post that was deemed as a pro-Palestine post.
A statement from the club claimed that comments from El Ghazi “took a position on the Middle East conflict in a manner that wasn’t tolerable for the club”.
Then, the report was that the German club whose stadium was named after their founder, Eugen Salomon, a Jewish man, who was forced out of the club by the Nazis in 1933 and died in the Holocaust in 1942, planned to terminate El Ghazi’s contract over his pro-Palestine post.
The suspension and the reported plan to terminate his contract forced El Ghazi to return to his home country, the Netherlands, where he is currently based at the time of writing.
A statement from the club reads: “Given his commitment to upholding the club’s values and the remorse shown, and in keeping with the club’s culture of using mistakes as an opportunity to learn, Anwar El Ghazi will return to training and matchday-related activities with 1. FSV Mainz 05 soon.”
The club added: “El Ghazi has since distanced himself from his post on his Instagram account, which he deleted minutes later, in multiple conversations with the club. He regrets publishing the post and is remorseful about its negative impact, especially on the club as a whole.
“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.”
Recall that El Ghazi joined Mainz on a free transfer during last summer window. Before his suspension, the Dutch winger had played in three games so far this season.
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