Ozil removed from computer game in China over Uighur comments

Arsenal's Mesut Ozil has been removed from Konami's eFootball Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) 2020 computer game in China over his comments about the country's treatment of its Uighur Muslims.

NetEase, which publishes the PES franchise in China, confirmed on Wednesday it will remove Ozil from all three existing titles, including the flagship PES 2020 Mobile.

"The German player Ozil posted an extreme statement about China on social media," NetEase said in a statement on Weibo on Wednesday.

"The speech hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sports spirit of love and peace. We do not understand, accept or forgive this."

Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish origin, posted messages of social media last week calling minority Uighurs "warriors who resist persecution" and criticised both China's crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response.

China's foreign ministry said Ozil was "deceived by fake news" as social media platforms in the country such as Weibo were flooded with angry messages.

Arsenal was quick to distance themselves from Ozil's comments, saying the club "always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics".

Meanwhile, former Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger (above) said on Wednesday Ozil must "accept the consequences" of criticising China's treatment of its Uighur Muslims, but he defended the star midfielder's right to express an opinion.

He told reporters in Doha he did not know if there would be a long-term impact for Ozil.

"I don't think the situation is definite, that can change very quickly, and although I don't know the situation well overall, Ozil made a comment and after, when you make a comment about your individual opinion, you accept the consequences of it," Wenger said.

"First of all Mesut Ozil has freedom of speech like everyone else and he uses his notoriety to express his opinions, what is not necessarily shared by everybody but he has the right to do that," the Frenchman added.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo came out in support of Ozil on Tuesday, saying Beijing could not hide rights violations.

China has repeatedly denied any mistreatment of Uighurs. But the United Nations and rights groups estimate up to two million mostly ethnic Uighur Muslims have been detained as part of what Beijing calls an anti-terrorism campaign.

Wenger said he did not want to get involved in the debate about the right balance between players' opinions and the commercial relationships big clubs, such as Arsenal, have internationally.

"I don't want to go into that dilemma, I think what is important is that Ozil has an individual responsibility, he doesn't carry the word of Arsenal Football Club. So what he says is about himself, not about Arsenal," Wenger added.

The National Basketball Association said it has incurred substantial financial losses in China since a Houston Rockets official tweeted his support for Hong Kong's pro-democracy protests in October.

- Reuters