A German court has ruled that Dutch footballer Anwar El Ghazi was unfairly dismissed from football club FSV Mainz 05 over comments he made about Israel‘s war on Gaza.
On Friday, the judge at Mainz labour court ordered the club to pay 1.7m euros ($1.85m) to El Ghazi – the equivalent of nine months of salary since he was dismissed in early November.
The court also ruled that the footballer must be allowed to return to work for the one year remaining on his contract.
It is expected now that El Ghazi and Mainz will attempt to agree a settlement for his release from the club.
Mainz suspended El Ghazi on 17 October, after he wrote a post in support of Palestinians in Gaza that included the popular phrase, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
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Some pro-Israeli voices claim the slogan calls for the destruction of Israel, while Palestinian activists maintain that it refers to an end to Israeli human rights abuses and occupation.
El Ghazi, who is a Dutch Muslim of Moroccan descent, later apologised for his comments and wrote another post in which he condemned violence against all civilians on both sides.
Mainz initially lifted El Ghazi’s suspension and released a statement, claiming that he “regretted” his comments and did not question “Israel’s right to exist”.
But the 29-year-old forward publicly responded, saying Mainz had released the statement without his permission.
FSV Mainz terminated its contract with El Ghazi on 4 November. He responded with the statement: “Stand for what is right, even if it means standing alone. The loss of my livelihood is nothing when compared to the hell being unleashed on the innocent and vulnerable in Gaza #stopthekilling.”
In May, El Ghazi co-hosted a charity football match raising funds for children in Gaza with Nujum Sports, an organisation that helps Muslim athletes.
On Friday, Nujum Sports said the verdict in El Ghazi’s case was a victory “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 threats of terminating contracts,” it said in a statement.
“Too often in the last nine months we have seen Muslim athletes unjustifiably vilified, pressurised and publicly named and shamed for speaking against the atrocities subjected upon the innocent civilians and children in Gaza.”
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