German Court Ruled Out the Unfair Dismissal Case of Footballer Anwar El Ghazi

The local footballer from the Netherlands, Anwar El Ghazi, had been fired by the German football club FSV Mainz 05, which the high court in the said nation termed as unfair due to a comment the latter had made about the Israeli attack on Gaza. The Mainz labor court judge employed the club to pay El Ghazi 1.7 million euros ($1.85 million) or a nine-month contractual entitlement to a salary since he was sacked in early November. 

 The court also ordered that El Gaza be allowed to resume practice for the balance of the year for which he had a contract with the defendants. However, laterazi and Mainz are expected to discuss and agree on a clause to free him from the club. 

 Mainz banned El Ghazi on October 17 after the player wrote on social media, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free. ” This phrase has been considered a problematic phrase by pro-Israels because the phrase is believed to portend that the entire Israel will be demolished. At the same time, the Palestinians hold a different perspective and argue that the phrase means that there will be no more human rights violations in the occupied territories. 

 El Ghazi, a Dutch Muslim of Moroccan origin, subsequently backtracked from the comments and posted another comment in which he opposed violence against all civilians. First, Mainz terminated El Ghazi’s suspension while publishing a statement in which the footballer was quoted as saying that he ‘regretted’ his words and did not ‘dispute Israel’s right to exist. ’ Despite this, El Ghazi said he had never stated Mainz. 

 El Ghazi’s contract with FSV Mainz was unilaterally annulled on November 4. The remainder is devoted to the studies of the role of emotions in decision-making. In response to this, El Ghazi has since released a statement saying, Stand for what is right even if you stand alone; I have lost my means of earning a living, which is not the same as the hell that has been unleashed on the innocents and the vulnerable in Gaza. #StopTheKilling.

El Ghazi was dismissed, which resulted in legal wrangles, and the court ruled in his favor. The court not only upheld his contract but also ordered his employers to pay him a substantial amount of money as and in respect of damages. 

 El Ghazi hosted a friendly football match in May with Nujum Sports, a Muslim athlete organization, to raise money for children in Gaza. The management of Nujum Sports celebrated the outcome of this court, saying that it was a win for ‘all athletes. ‘ 

 “We urge clubs and the professional bodies to desist from continuing to suppress such freedoms by pressuring athletes to stay silent or toe the set line by threatening to ‘cancel’ their contracts,” Nujum Sports said. “It is excruciating in the last nine months, several times we have witnessed that Muslim athletes have been accused, pressured, and openly exposed simply for protesting against the genocide on the Gaza people and children. ” 

 The incident of Anwar El Ghazi gives the public an example of the eternal conflict between the right to free speech and political issues regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. This ruling can hold a particular precedent for athletes who wish to fight for human rights while managing their careers.