Amnesty International praises Mesut Ozil for his comments on China.
Arsenal star Mesut Ozil has recently caused controversy after he criticized the Chinese Government for their treatment of the Muslim minority in their country.
His comments had angered China and they made that known by deleting his name from all internet searches in the country as well as refusing to air Arsenal’s game against Manchester City.
He has however been commended by Amnesty International who claimed that the world needed more people like him.
Amnesty International’s William Nee in Hong Kong, per Talksport said: “This is one of the biggest human rights crises in the world today. To have sports stars talk about this – it brings the message to a new audience.
“Uighur Muslims are being imprisoned simply for things like having long beards, having history of prayer, knowing someone who has gone overseas, or having a relative overseas.”
US Secretary Mike Pompeo has also come out in support of Ozil via Twitter
China’s Communist Party propaganda outlets can censor @MesutOzil1088 and @Arsenal’s games all season long, but the truth will prevail. The CCP can’t hide its gross #HumanRights violations perpetrated against Uighurs and other religious faiths from the world.
— Secretary Pompeo (@SecPompeo) December 17, 2019
However, not everyone has come out in support of the former German international. Arsenal has distanced themselves from his post and Yaya Toure has stated that he should focus on football.
While he is getting commendations from Amnesty International, his form for Arsenal has not been of the highest standard. No doubt some fans will be hoping that once a new manager is installed there will be an improvement in Ozil’s performances on the pitch.
Ozil is finished …His performance cannot improve more than the way it is..
Can we see ,the guy is finished ..
He should be shipped out..
His comments are spot on..he is not an hypocrite like others
He should play football joor…
If he was playing well maybe o won’t have bordered…
Nonsense..
But he has a right to his personal opinion tho,but when you are of celebrity status esp when you are living off past glory ..you should be careful of the things you dabble into…
I do not claim to know much about international politics but, Ozil is in bed with Erdogan who has been cracking down on the Kurds in Turkey and Syria. Same thing China is doing with the Uighurs. No matter what anyone says, I still believe players should stick to football and avoid politics. Ozil has already offended the Chinese supporters, who’s next? The Israelis? Americans? This is just ridiculous to be honest.
@QuanticDream
Ain’t it kool that your opinion don’t mean jack to no one but you… ✌🏿
I said it before that the world would be a better place if sport stars come out to speak against injustice. Some of these guys have enough fanbase and followers other celebrities would dream of.
Kudos to Ozil for having the balls to speak, this ain’t about being a footballer or not, injustice should be stopped
Agreed, though I always feel people should get their own house in order before attacking others.
The implications of Özil’s remarks are really much bigger than to warrant such a limited article.
But maybe big political and principal issues aren’t really for Just Arsenal.
Özil has the right to free speech, because he lives in a free democracy. An interesting side issue is the fact, he is “best friend” with a Turkish president, who has a very strained relationship with democracy.
And Özil’s remarks has led to Arsenal’s game against City not being televised on one of PL’s big markets and other commercial limitations has also been taken by the Chinese regime.
So suddenly we see not only Arsenal’s but the whole PL’s market value in TV rights and sponsorships can be under pressure, when players exercise free speech on political issues.
Interesting times, indeed.
@Anders
So, in essence, you give up your rights and liberties, plus abandon your integrity, if you want to get paid. Got it…
NY_Gunner
I am not at all arguing for anyone to give up their rights – read again mate
NY_Gunner, And in that brief but true comment of yours you have the whole stinking pit of corruption in top level football writ large. Money is above all else; above principles, above honesty, above free speech and above humanity. It is a stinking pit and all who condone it whilst knowing that dreadful truth are complicit. That means me and you and anyone else who knows a thing or two about life (but therefore excludes many naive kids on here). Shame on us all!
Jon and NY-Gunner, plus all the others who have the same views, there is hope in the world my friends.
Couldn’t have articulated your views any better – thank you.
I am putting together another article based on Ozil’s views and actions, that should reach Admin very soon.
It has NOTHING to do with his abilities, worth or actions as a footballer, so I hope the “justarsenal” population read it as it is intended.
Ken, Reassuring I find that on life matters and principles we think largely as one, despite all ouR team differences which are as nothing in lifes grand scheme . If human principles do not trump(ugh!!!) football , then we are all worthless beings.
Imagine if All of Arsenal got banned from China just because of this one guy’s social media comments. It’s not beyond China to do so, after all, only We lose out from not being able to pre season there.
He speaks politic or humanity? You entitle to your view but I stand with Ozil’s. He uses his influence to speak on humanity and that is totally genius.
It’s a simple statement everybody should understand, the world is a free place for everyone to live in happily kudos to Ozil for showing concern to humanity
Ozil has the right to hold an opinion on any political or religious issue. However, I’m pretty sure that it was specified in the fine print of his contract, that he is not to Express political or religious opinions while being contracted to Arsenal. The FA also has a code of conduct for its players. As we can see, Ozil’s action albeit morally right, is actually wrong and has cost the club and the FA already in China.
If he feels so strongly about activism, he should cancel his Arsenal contract and support whatever course he wishes as an independent individual.
@Abel
Yet, the club can get political when it embraces an anti racism or anti homophobic stance? Once you say you’re for the civil rights of one group, you’re for the civil rights of all…
china is a joke of a country for blocking the ARS-CITY game and Özil on PES.. that’s just beyond stupid
and like Jon Fox rightly said.. we the fans of arsenal and the club itself are hypocrites and Özil is surely right in his condemning of being silent about inhuman things
OT admins of this site, you are desperate if you allow Spurs Ads on it
on the one hand, mr.ozil complains about the treatment of his muslim brothers by china, and rightly so , in my opinion.on the other hand, he keeps quiet and turns a blind eye about the treatment , by his friend, of , his brother kurds, in his beloevd turkey.this to me , smacks of two faced opinion. why does he not make comments about the turkish leader, his friend, who has blood on his hands.ozil cannot have it both ways, he is either against injustice , entirely, or , he is just a loud mouth, who chooses to make comments for the sake of it . this man is a total liability on our club, in every which way. the cynic in me would say, why cant he , ozil, finance a move to improve the lives of those muslims whom he spoke out about .mr.ozil is in a very unique position here`,he has more money than he knows what to do with . so, i guess i am saying to ozil that maybe he would be better employed if he were to FINANCE these muslims that he seems be concerned about, let him spend some of his millions on these poor people. in other words mr.ozil , put your money where your big mouth is .speaking out is one thing , following through with a solution is entirely another.
Actually, if only Ozil played better football in these recent 2 years. Lot of fans will back his words and we will respect him more. But with his recent play and huge salary, well, his statements meant nothing for me.
Maybe its time for #ozilout