Ozil Booted From Video Game After China Comments
Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil, has been removed from Konami’s eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2020 computer game in China following his criticism of the country’s treatment towards its Uyghurs Muslims.
Video game publisher NetEase confirmed on Wednesday, 18 December, that it will take Ozil out of all three existing titles in China, including the mobile version of PES.
Last week, the 31-year-old German footballer – who is a third-generation Turkish-German and practising Muslim – tweeted a poem calling on the Uyghurs minority to “resist persecution” and decried the Chinese government’s crackdown on its critics.
China’s foreign ministry claims that Ozil’s viewpoint was the result of “fake news”.
Arsenal distanced itself from Ozil’s comments, stating that the club “adheres to the principle of not involving itself in politics”.
However, Ozil has received support from former Arsenal manager, Arsene Wenger, who defended him, saying that he “has freedom of speech like everyone else” and “has the right to express his opinion”.
