LONDON: Mesut Ozil has slammed Arsenal's failure to back his support of Uighur Muslims over their alleged persecution in China.
Arsenal midfielder Ozil spoke out on Instagram against China's treatment of the Uighur population in Xinjiang last year.
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More than one million Uighurs and mostly Muslim Turkic minorities have been rounded up in internment camps, according to human rights groups and experts.
Arsenal did not criticise Ozil for making the comments, but instead posted on their page on the Chinese social media site Weibo that the club "always adheres to the principles" of not getting involved in politics.
Since then Premier League clubs have supported the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd was killed in America.
READ: 'I'll decide when I go,' Ozil tells Arsenal
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Former Germany international Ozil, who was frozen out by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta for "football reasons" since the coronavirus restart, would have liked similar support over the Uighur issue.
"It doesn't matter what religion or colour you are – Muslim, Christian, Jew, black, white or anything else. We are all the same," Ozil told the Athletic.
"What I said was not against Chinese people, it was against whoever is doing this to the Uighur Muslims and other people who are not helping them, such as other Muslim countries.
"I have given a lot to Arsenal, on and off the pitch, so the reaction was disappointing. They said they don'tRead More – Source
LONDON: Mesut Ozil has slammed Arsenal's failure to back his support of Uighur Muslims over their alleged persecution in China.
Arsenal midfielder Ozil spoke out on Instagram against China's treatment of the Uighur population in Xinjiang last year.
Advertisement
Advertisement
More than one million Uighurs and mostly Muslim Turkic minorities have been rounded up in internment camps, according to human rights groups and experts.
Arsenal did not criticise Ozil for making the comments, but instead posted on their page on the Chinese social media site Weibo that the club "always adheres to the principles" of not getting involved in politics.
Since then Premier League clubs have supported the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd was killed in America.
READ: 'I'll decide when I go,' Ozil tells Arsenal
Advertisement
Advertisement
Former Germany international Ozil, who was frozen out by Gunners boss Mikel Arteta for "football reasons" since the coronavirus restart, would have liked similar support over the Uighur issue.
"It doesn't matter what religion or colour you are – Muslim, Christian, Jew, black, white or anything else. We are all the same," Ozil told the Athletic.
"What I said was not against Chinese people, it was against whoever is doing this to the Uighur Muslims and other people who are not helping them, such as other Muslim countries.
"I have given a lot to Arsenal, on and off the pitch, so the reaction was disappointing. They said they don'tRead More – Source
