The German courts have finally settled the legal dispute concerning the unfair dismissal of former Mainz player Anwar El Ghazi, a Dutch footballer of Moroccan origin.
A dispute had arisen between the player and his former club in October 2023 over his posts regarding the Gaza conflict.
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At that time, the German club decided to suspend the Dutch player following his posting of a controversial political statement.
Although Mainz later announced that El Ghazi had retracted his stance, he explicitly denied this, insisting he felt no regret, prompting the club to terminate his contract immediately, which entitled him to compensation exceeding €1.5 million.
Mainz had previously been barred from challenging the case, and subsequently lodged an appeal against this ban, which was also rejected, thereby exhausting all available legal avenues and rendering the rulings on this matter final and binding.
In its reasoning, the court held that “freedom of expression outweighs the club’s interests in this case”, thereby confirming the Qatari Al-Sailiya star’s entitlement to compensation.