Court Rejects Mainz Appeal in Anwar El Ghazi Case, Upholds Unlawful Contract Termination After Palestine Support

The Regional Labour Court in Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany, on Wednesday rejected an appeal filed by Mainz 05 against the ruling in the case of Anwar El Ghazi, a player of Moroccan origin. This decision upholds the original ruling from summer 2024, which deemed the termination of the 30-year-old's contract unlawful.

Mainz 05 President Stefan Hofmann commented on the court's decision, stating: "We have to accept the court's decision, but we stand by our position. There can be no future at Mainz 05 for anyone whose actions or statements conflict with the club's values."

The details of the case date back to October 2023, when El Ghazi posted a message on his official Instagram account expressing solidarity with the Palestinian people amid the massacres they were facing from the Zionist occupation, which prompted the German club to immediately terminate his contract.

The court ruled that the posts should be evaluated objectively and concluded that freedom of expression, in this instance, outweighed the employer's interests. Consequently, the termination decision was legally unjustified. The court also affirmed that the rejection of the appeal was not due to a delay in its submission, as some reports had suggested.

Anwar El Ghazi had sought financial compensation related to outstanding wages and entitlements. He has received 1.5 million euros and continues to demand the full amount, estimated at 2.3 million euros.