Mainz suspend El Ghazi for post about Israel-Hamas war

Striker Anwar El Ghazi was suspended by Mainz on Tuesday for a social media post about the war between Israel and Hamas, which the Bundesliga club deemed “unacceptable”.

El Ghazi, who joined Mainz in September, has since deleted the post.

Hamas fighters killed more than 1,400 Israelis on October 7 in the deadliest Palestinian militant attack in Israeli history. Israel responded with intensive airstrikes that killed more than 3,000 Palestinians.

“Mainz 05 respects the fact that there are different perspectives on the complex, decades-long Middle East conflict,” the club said in a statement posted on X, formerly Twitter.

“However, the club clearly distances itself from the content of the message as it does not reflect the values ​​of our club.”

The club did not provide further details on what El Ghazi had written in the deleted post.

Former Aston Villa winger El Ghazi, who was born in the Netherlands, wrote in another article on X on Thursday that he had “received negative messages around my social media posts”.

“I want to make it clear that I stand for peace above all else,” the 28-year-old said. He also called for “more empathy, by deepening our knowledge of the history of this conflict.”

Mainz are 17th and penultimate in the Bundesliga with two points after seven matches.