Anwar El Ghazi and FSV Mainz 05 are back in court over the Bundesliga club’s immediate dismissal of the professional footballer following his pro-Palestinian Instagram posts. At a conciliation hearing before the Mainz Labor Court on Wednesday, the lawyers of both parties were unable to reach an agreement. The presiding judge Bettina Chaudhry therefore set a chamber hearing for June 19th.
The 28-year-old striker himself did not appear on site. El Ghazi is suing against the immediate termination of his contract by Mainz. The contract runs until June 30, 2024 and will be extended by one year if the relegation candidate stays in the league. Among other things, it is also about his monthly salary, which, according to his lawyer, is 150,000 euros. The FSV, in turn, is demanding around 523,000 euros back from El Ghazi, including the earnest money when he signed the contract.
El Ghazi: “Stand on the side of the oppressed”
The starting point for the sensational case in professional football was an initial contribution from the Dutch-born Moroccan in mid-October. After the attack on Israel by terrorists on behalf of Hamas on October 7th, he wrote in an Instagram post that was then deleted: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” What is meant is that Palestine should extend from the Jordan to the Mediterranean. This, in a sense, denies Israel its right to exist.
This was initially followed by a suspension and warning from Mainz 05, before the professional was briefly allowed to return to the squad after a conversation with the club in which, according to a statement, he distanced himself from his statements. El Ghazi then surprisingly denied the claim that he had backed away from his contribution. “I do not distance myself from what I said and stand for humanity and alongside the oppressed until the last day I breathe,” El Ghazi wrote.
On November 3rd, Mainz 05 terminated their contract without notice. El Ghazi responded to this with another pro-Palestinian Instagram post. As a lawyer for FSV Mainz, Johan-Michel Menke spoke of “serious violations” of El Ghazi’s contractual obligations and inhumane statements: “Mainz 05 has suffered major reputational damage.”
