(Deutsche Welle) Football club Mainz 05 did not have good reason to sack Dutch footballer Anwar El Ghazi for his comments about the war in Gaza, Mainz’s labor court ruled on Friday.
The court found that El Ghazi’s comments on social media did not warrant the immediate halting of his working relationship with the club.
It declared as void the dismissal of the Dutch national, who has Moroccan roots, ordered Mainz to reinstate him as a player and ordered the Bundesliga club to give El Ghazi back pay and other bonuses worth almost €1.5 million (about $1.6 million).
The court found that El Ghazi’s comments were protected by his rights to free speech.
