El Ghazi wins case against Mainz over Israel-Hamas posts

A German labour court said Friday that Bundesliga football club Mainz had unfairly terminated the contract of winger Anwar El Ghazi after the player made comments about the war in Gaza on social media.

The court in the city of Mainz said in a statement it had ruled in favour of El Ghazi, who had brought a case against the club.

Mainz’s decision to dismiss the former Dutch international last year “did not terminate the employment relationship” and the contact between the parties remained valid, the court said.

The ruling entitled El Ghazi to a payment from Mainz of more than 1.5 million euros ($1.63 million), AFP’s sports subsidiary SID reported.

Mainz suspended El Ghazi in October after the player shared posts on social media after the outbreak of the conflict between Israel and Hamas earlier that month.

In the posts, El Ghazi used the phrase “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free”—a slogan seen by some as a call for the destruction of Israel, while others say it appeals for equality for Palestinians and Israelis.

The club later issued a statement saying the player would return after “explicitly distancing himself” from the comments. 

But El Ghazi disputed the claim on social media, saying “I do not regret or have any remorse for my position”. 

Mainz subsequently said it would terminate El Ghazi’s contract with immediate effect. 

The court however ruled that El Ghazi’s later statements were “protected by freedom of expression” and that Mainz’s decision to cut the player loose was unfair.

The war in Gaza began on October 7 with Hamas’s unprecedented attack on southern Israel that resulted in the deaths of 1,195 people, mostly civilians, according to an AFP tally based on Israeli figures. 

The militants also seized 251 hostages, 116 of whom remain in Gaza, including 42 the military says are dead. 

Israel responded with a military offensive that has killed at least 38,345 people in Gaza, also mostly civilians, according to data from the health ministry in Hamas-run Gaza.