Anwar El Ghazi has finally won his long-running legal battle with FSV Mainz 05. On Thursday, the German Federal Labour Court in Erfurt dismissed the Bundesliga club’s final appeal. Shortly afterwards, the Al-Sailiya SC (Qatar) striker responded with a strongly worded statement on social media.
Mainz sacked El Ghazi with immediate effect at the end of 2023 due to pro-Palestinian comments. In July 2024, the court had already ruled that this dismissal was invalid, as the comments fell under freedom of expression.
In the appeal hearing in November 2025, Mainz was again ruled against by the Rhineland-Palatinate Regional Labour Court. With the rejection of this latest appeal, the legal battle has now been definitively settled. The club must therefore pay the outstanding salary.
The amount is estimated to be between 1.5 and 1.7 million euros for the period from November 2023 to June 2024. In addition, the striker is seeking an additional 1.2 million euros in damages.
The 30-year-old striker reacted almost immediately with harsh words via X. “They tried again and they failed again,” he begins his post. “No, I’m not talking about the decades-long, repeatedly failed attempts at genocide to wipe out the Palestinians, but about the ridiculous and pathetic attempts by FSV Mainz 05 to appeal again against their loss in my case at the German court, only to lose again.”
El Ghazi then emphasises that the ruling feels like justice to him. “Today, the German court dismissed FSV Mainz 05’s final appeal, making the previous ruling final and ensuring that justice has been done. A convincing victory.”
He is equally uncompromising towards the Mainz board. “It is time for the misguided decision-makers at FSV Mainz 05 to stop this and pay out the remainder of my contract.”
He adds that the money will be put to a clear purpose. “There are worthy causes that support the children of Gaza,” says El Ghazi. “Hopefully that will offer the FSV Mainz 05 board some consolation.” He concludes his statement with the words ‘Free Palestine’.