Anwar El Ghazi slams Mainz after latest victory in backpay dispute: “Serial losers not content with losing on the football pitch.” | OneFootball

Former Mainz 05 professional Anwar El Ghazi has won his latest legal battle over back-pay with his former Bundesliga club. After a Palatinate court upheld a September judgement (appealed by Mainz) that will see the 30-year-old collect up to €2.7m in back-pay from his old employer, El Ghazi quickly took to social media platform X to gloat. 

El Ghazi, who ended up playing only three matches for Mainz in the autumn of 2023, was released by the club due to his pro-Palestinian social media posts. Germany is a country in which speech questioning Israel’s right to exist is not protected. Moreover, Mainz (like many Bundesliga clubs) benefitted from Jewish benefactors and contributors in the post-war Bundesrepublik. 

The premature termination of El Ghazi’s contract in 2023 was not without its fair share of controversy. Some argued that – given the fact that El Ghazi did apologize and partially retract his statements – the club’s treatment of the player was too harsh. Others pointed out that another Bundesliga club did not go far enough. 

Bayern Munich’s Moroccan fullback Noussair Mazraoui (currently at Manchester United) made statements similar to El Ghazi, yet was only subject to club-sponsored sensitivity training. German pro-Israel and Jewish activists at the time referenced the double standard, even admitting that El Ghazi was treated differently due to his lesser sporting relevance. 

El Ghazi previously announced plans to donate some of the back-pay he received to Palestinian relief efforts. On Thursday, however, the Dutch-Moroccan simply proceeded to slam his old employer on social media. 

“Another day, another hearing, another appeal but still the same old outcome; a loss for FSV Mainz 05,” El Ghazi wrote on X. “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.

“The statement from the serial losers FSV Mainz 05 following their latest defeat is as deluded as their entire dealings and proceedings against me,” El Ghazi continued. “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 !!!“

GGFN | Peter Weis