Arsenal star Mesut Ozil deceived by ‘fake news’ on Xinjiang, China says
- Football star’s comments on mistreatment of Uygurs ‘affected by falsehoods’
- Foreign ministry invites Ozil to see the region’s ‘stable political situation’ for himself
On Monday, ministry spokesman Geng Shuang invited Mesut Ozil, who plays for English Premier League team Arsenal, to visit the Xinjiang Uygur autonomous region to see its “stable political situation and economic development” for himself.
“I don’t know if Mr Ozil has been to Xinjiang. But his eyes seems to have been covered by some fake news and his judgment affected by falsehoods,” Geng said.
The comments came after Ozil posted pictures on Twitter and Instagram on Friday, accusing Muslims of staying silent over the mistreatment of the Uygur Muslim minority in China.
The post referred to Xinjiang as East Turkestan – a term used by many Uygurs for the region – and accused the Chinese authorities of burning Korans, shutting mosques and mass internment of the Uygur people.
Beijing says the detention centres are training facilities and part of an effort to curb religious extremism.
Arsenal tried to distance itself from Ozil, with the club saying on Saturday morning on the Twitter-like Weibo platform that Ozil’s social media posts were his own personal opinions. The football club did not get involved in politics on principle, the post said.
Chinese internet users also took aim at Ozil and demanded that Arsenal take action against its star player. “Your player is supporting extremism,” one Weibo user wrote.
The response was similar to the backlash after Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted a now-deleted tweet that said: “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.”
The Chinese Basketball Association and Chinese sportswear brand Li-Ning suspended cooperation with the Rockets. Tencent Sports also suspended broadcasts of NBA games, resuming them about two weeks later except for those involving the Rockets.
