Image source, Getty Images
- Author, Nizaar Kinsella
- Role, BBC Sport football news reporter
Former Aston Villa and Everton forward Anwar El Ghazi had his contract wrongfully terminated at Mainz last season, a German court has ruled.
The Dutchman, now 29, took a wrongful dismissal complaint to the Labour Court of Mainz after his contract was cancelled on 2 November following a series of social media posts about the Israel-Gaza conflict.
Mainz, whose acting media director Silke Bannick attended court, have acknowledged the outcome and will wait for written reasons to be released before deciding whether to appeal against the decision.
A lawyer representing El Ghazi also confirmed the court’s decision to BBC Sport.
Nujum Sports, an organisation for Muslim footballers, released a statement which said: “Today’s landmark verdict in the case of Anwar El Ghazi against FSV Mainz is a victory not just for Anwar but for all athletes.
“We hope clubs and professional bodies take note and do not continue to repress legitimate freedom of speech by pressurising athletes to remain silent or adopt a particular narrative with the threat of terminating contracts.”
El Ghazi attended the case hearing. He is expected to be reinstated as a player at the German top-flight club and seek a mutual termination of his contract.
Reports in Germany said he is owed about £1.4m in salary and bonuses by the club.
The two-time Netherlands international – who has also played for Ajax and Lille – was originally suspended on 17 October, following a social media post which included the controversial phrase “from the river to the sea”, a pro-Palestinian message which critics say implies the destruction of Israel.
But that interpretation is disputed by some pro-Palestinian activists who say that most people chanting it are calling for an end to Israel’s occupation of the West Bank and blockade of Gaza, not the destruction of Israel itself.
El Ghazi was threatened with contract termination on 27 October but returned to the squad three days later, saying that he stands “for peace above everything”.
El Ghazi subsequently revealed, however, that he had not authorised the club’s statement confirming his return, saying: “I do not distance myself from what I said and stand for humanity and on the side of the oppressed until the last day I breathe.”
The German club subsequently terminated his contract with immediate effect.