A German soccer player got himself cut from his team after posting antisemitic messages on social media.
Anwar El Ghazi, formerly a forward for Bundesliga club FSV Mainz 05, posted an anti-Israel message on his Instagram story in October, claiming Israel deserves to be destroyed because of the measures the nation has taken to defend itself form brutal Hamas attacks.
‼️German football club FSV Mainz 05 have terminated Anwar El Ghazi's contract after the player posted the words "from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free." pic.twitter.com/VXonWxlUND
— nuno marques (@numarqs) November 4, 2023
"From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free” is a phrase calling for the annihilation of the nation of Israel and its Jewish population. So not only does this guy claim Hamas and Palenstine are the victims for starting the war, he flat-out advocates for the destruction of a prominent ethnic group.
How wonderful.
Related: Nine Governors Sign Petition For NCAA To Protect Women's Sports
The club responded to the post by stating that Mainz that El-Ghazi "took a position on the conflict in the Middle East in a manner that wasn't tolerable for the club.” Additionally, BBC noted that Mainz’s first chairman was a Jewish man named Eugen Salomon. He was stripped of his club functions by the Nazis in 1933, and died in the Holocaust nine years later. So El-Ghazi crossed many lines with just one post.
Surprisingly, Mainz initially reinstated E lGhazi after he posted this message. On October 30, the club said that given El Ghazi’s:
"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 FSV Mainz 05 soon."
Not many people get a second chance of this magnitude, so you would think El Ghazi would have been grateful and seized this opportunity.
Think again.
The winger said the club released the statement without his permission, and doubled-down on his stance.
“I do not regret or have any remorse for my position,” El-Ghazi responded. “I do not distance myself from what I said and I stand, today and always until my last breath, for humanity and the oppressed.”
The club released him on November 1st, with good reason.
Israel did not start this conflict, so the consequences Palestine suffered were brought on themselves. But you probably won’t be able to convince El-Ghazi of that.
Follow MRCTV on X!
Not only have their movies turned to crap, but now Disney parks are littered with excrement too.
— MRCTV (@mrctv) November 7, 2023
https://t.co/xS24xzj790