Arsenal distances from Ozil's comments about persecution of Muslims in China

The club tried to limit any possible damage to their business in China, where there are numerous commercial interests, including a chain of restaurants, by releasing a statement in Weibo ʹ a leading Chinese social media site, etc., as well as other platforms where it emphasises the club is apolitical and does not link itself to Ozil's views.

“As far as comments made by Mesut Ozil on social media, Arsenal must make a clear statement,” is read in it.

(Laughter) As a football club, Arsenal has always respected the principle of not participating in politics. “

Ozil had added his voice to the wave of international anger over the treatment of eel Muslims, a Turkish-speaking Muslim minority who have been subjected to a campaign of religious and ethnic persecution by Chinese authorities.

Some 10 million Ustures live in Xinjiang, and there are claims that more than one million have been held in detention camps in recent years. Ozil's post had listed a series of issues facing waters in China, accusing other Muslims of being silent on the subject.

His message to the Instagram writes: “Easternurkissan, Umeti's bloody wound, resisting persecutors trying to separate them from their religion. They burn their Korans. They closed their mosques. They stop their schools. They kill their holy people. Men are forced into camps, and their families are forced to live with Chinese men. Women are forced to marry Chinese men.

But Muslims are silent. They won't make any noise. They abandoned them. Do they not know that granting consent for persecution is just the course of persecution? ” wrote Ozil.