Anwar El Ghazi, the former Aston Villa winger, is reportedly having his contract with Mainz terminated after a contentious social media post expressing solidarity with Palestine.
The 28-year-old faced suspension earlier this month by the Bundesliga club, who explicitly ‘distanced themselves from the content of the post,’ stating that it did not ‘align with the values of the club.’
However, following a meeting on Thursday, Mainz has made the decision to cancel El Ghazi’s contract, which was originally set to run until 2025, as reported by the BBC.
The club claims that El Ghazi refused to apologize and conveyed to club officials that he ‘stands for peace and humanity for all victims of the war.’
El Ghazi, who previously played in the Premier League for both Aston Villa and Everton, ventured to Germany in pursuit of more consistent first-team opportunities.
Part of his social media update read, ‘Palestine will be free,’ but he subsequently removed the post from his Instagram story.
| LIB