‘JUDGE MY WHOLE RECORD’
ARSENAL have been slammed by Mesut Ozil for failing to back his “Muslim Lives Matter” protest against the Chinese treatment of Uighur Muslims.
The German said it is “fantastic” the Gunners are supporting the Black Lives Matter movement, following the death of George Floyd.
But when Muslim Ozil raised the persecution of the Uighurs in December – via his Instagram account – his club went on China’s most popular social media site Weibo to state the views were “Ozil’s personal opinion”.
It added: “As a football club, Arsenal has always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics.”
But Ozil, whose picture has been used to support the Uighurs (above), said: “Every human is equal. It doesn’t matter what religion or colour you are — we are all the same.
“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
MESUT OZIL wants to be judged on his whole Arsenal career – not just the stats that say Mikel Arteta’s side are better without him.
The German star (left) joined from Real Madrid in 2013 and has helped the Gunners to three FA Cups.
But the club have a higher win percentage without the £42million star this campaign.
Ozil said: “If you consider circumstances, you cannot use these statistics. If you have to, it is more accurate to look at the data for my whole pitch, so the reaction was disappointing. They said they don’t get involved in politics, but this isn’t politics and they’ve got involved in other issues.
“In America, we saw George Floyd killed and the world spoke up to say Black Lives Matter – and that is correct. We are all equal and it’s a good thing that people fight against injustice.
“But I wish people would have done the same for the Muslims as Arsenal have many Muslim players and fans, and it is important for the world to say that Muslim Lives Matter.”
Arsenal career and also from the 10 games after Mikel was appointed — not so bad for someone who had barely been picked for a year and a half.
“People will love or hate you. The main thing is the people who know you and what they think.
“What the people outside say about my play or my character is irrelevant — they just speak b ******* to make publicity and they know by using my name it will bring them attention. I don’t care or listen to people who don’t know me.”