Following a court decision in his favour, Anwar El Ghazi issued a brutal statement denouncing Mainz, who have been ordered to pay his full salary after the unlawful termination of his contract in 2023 over pro-Palestinian comments on social media. El Ghazi described the Bundesliga club’s stance as “baseless” and “nonsensical,” further branding them “serial losers” and “deluded.”
Mainz lose court appeal against El Ghazi
Bundesliga outfit Mainz have lost their legal battle against former player El Ghazi, after the Rhineland-Palatinate State Labour Court rejected the club's latest appeal. The court ruled that El Ghazi, whose contract was terminated at the end of 2023 due to controversial pro-Palestine posts on social media, is obliged to receive his salary in full, upholding an earlier ruling from July 2024. The court also determined that El Ghazi’s right to freedom of expression outweighed Mainz’s grounds for terminating his contract.
The former Netherlands international received the €1.5 million compensation – his wages from November 2023 to July 2024 – ordered by the court in August 2024. Mainz appealed in an attempt to reclaim that money, but the appeal has been swiftly rejected.
AdvertisementGetty Images SportWhy did Mainz terminate El Ghazi's contract?
It all started in October 2023, when El Ghazi posted about the Israel-Gaza conflict on Instagram. "This isn't a conflict and it's not war. This is genocide and mass destruction and we're witnessing it happen live. From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free," El Ghazi wrote in one of his social media posts immediate after the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023. Mainz suspended him after his post and released a statement claiming that El Ghazi had expressed remorse and apologised for his comment. However, the player swiftly refuted this in a subsequent post, claiming that he did not "regret" or "distance himself" from his initial words. Following the dispute, Mainz terminated El Ghazi’s contract unilaterally, prompting the 30-year-old to file a lawsuit in a Palatinate district labor court.
El Ghazi makes a mockery of Mainz after winning legal battle
Taking to Instagram on Thursday, El Ghazi wrote: "Another day, another hearing, another appeal but still the same old outcome; a loss for FSV Mainz 05. Regular defeats on the football pitch clearly aren’t enough for the board of the club so they keep coming back for more losses in the German courts!
"I am grateful to the German courts for serving justice and seeing through the baseless and nonsensical claims of the club.
"Let me be clear, the statement from the serial losers FSV Mainz 05 following their latest defeat is as deluded as their entire dealings and proceedings against me. I have never had, nor will I ever have, any consensus with any person or organisation which seeks to silence those standing for justice and humanity. My values can never align with any organisation whose values and convictions are to blindly stand with those accused of flagrantly breaching International law and perpetrating genocide.
"No one is above the law. Let this latest victory send a loud and clear to message to the warmongers, their accomplices and the deluded board members of FSV Mainz 05; you cannot, and will not, silence the voices of the Palestinians and their advocates. Viva Palestina!!!"
Getty Images SportMainz do not regret their actions
Following the verdict of the court, Mainz chairman and CEO Stefan Hofmann issued a statement accepting the ruling. He did, however, add that they will take the same actions with "individuals whose statements and actions fundamentally contradict" the values and beliefs of the club.
“We have to accept the court’s decision that the conduct of our employee following the heinous Hamas attack in 2023 did not constitute sufficient grounds for immediate termination," said Hofmann. “However, we stand firmly by our position: based on the values and principles that define Mainz 05, there can be no future employment for individuals whose statements or actions fundamentally contradict them.”
As for El Ghazi, he spent the 2024-25 season at Championship side Cardiff City, making 27 appearances and scoring three goals after signing a one-year deal with the English outfit. Over the summer, he joined Al-Sailiya in the Qatar Stars League. The former Ajax, Lille, Aston Villa, Everton, and PSV winger is tied to the club until June 2027.