Arsenal star Mesut Ozil is removed from Pro Evolution Soccer game in China after he criticised treatment of Muslim Uighurs in Xinjiang – and Chinese state TV responded by AXING live coverage of Gunners v Man City
- Mesut Ozil has been removed from three versions of Pro Evolution Soccer
- It comes as China continues to hit back following the German’s claims
- The state broadcaster scrapped coverage of Arsenal against Manchester City
- The game’s publisher in China described Ozil’s comments as ‘hurtful’
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been removed from the 2020 version of Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) in China after he criticised the country’s treatment of ethnic Uighur Muslims in the western region of Xinjiang.
In Twitter and Instagram posts, the German midfielder called Uighurs ‘warriors who resist persecution’ after a United Nations report suggested more than one million Uighurs had been detained in internment camps, while also accusing the Chinese government of burning The Quran and tearing down mosques.
China hit back at his claims, with the country’s foreign ministry saying he had been ‘blinded and misled’ and invited him to the region, after the country’s state broadcaster CCTV had taken the dramatic step of scrapping planned live coverage of Arsenal’s match against Manchester City on Sunday.
Mesut Ozil has been removed from three editions of Pro Evolution Soccer in China
The announcement comes after Ozil criticised China’s treatment of Ugyur Muslims
But the country’s repudiation of his comments has continued with NetEase, who publish PES games in China, announcing that Ozil will be removed from three versions of the game, including the popular PES 2020 Mobile.
NetEase also said his comments ‘hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sport’s spirit of love and peace’ and added that they don’t ‘understand, accept or forgive’ the player for his behaviour.
Konami, the Japanese developer of the game, has yet to make a comment.
The news is just the latest demonstration of Chinese fury against Ozil, who was described as ‘shallow and narrow-minded’ in a Global Times article.
There have also been reports of fan pages of the former Germany international being removed by online search engines and social media footage of football fans burning and defacing shirts bearing his name.
Ozil has also been criticised for making the comments by former Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure, who said that discussing the mass detention on Uighurs and others is ‘complicated’ because he and Ozil are both Muslim, but took a different approach to the Arsenal midfielder over whether athletes should use their platforms to discuss political issues.
‘Footballers have to stay with football and politicians to politics because you cannot be involved with this kind of things because it’s going to attract a lot of problems and a lot of things,’ Toure said in an interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday.
‘As a Muslim it is complicated and it is his choice. He’s been doing his comments but I think he was wrong to say that.’
Toure’s comments on Ozil echo the stance of Arsenal, which said it ‘adheres to the principle of not being involved in politics.
Secret documents reported by the AP last month showed the Chinese government used mass surveillance and an integrated computing system to target pious Muslims and Uighurs who travelled abroad for detention in internment camps.
China has been accused of detaining more than one million Uighurs and other minorities in Xinjiang and subjecting them to torture, beatings and food deprivation. The documents showed they were forced to learn Mandarin and Communist ideology.
Fans show Ozil their support after the German hit out at the Chinese government
A placard reads ‘Thanks for being our voice’ with a picture of Ozil on the front
While China have repudiated his comments, Uighur Muslims have shown their support