After winning in court
Former professional player mocks Bundesliga club Mainz 05
November 13, 2025 – 18:39Reading time: 2 minutes
Anwar El Ghazi won the legal dispute against his former club Mainz 05. Reason enough for the footballer to speak out in public again.
Professional footballer Anwar El Ghazi hit back verbally after a legal dispute with his former club FSV Mainz 05. “Apparently the club’s board is not satisfied with regular defeats on the football field, which is why they continue to demand new defeats in the German courts!” El Ghazi wrote on social media.
Mainz 05 admitted on Wednesday that their appeal in the El Ghazi case had failed. “We must accept the court’s decision, which does not see sufficient grounds to immediately dismiss the behavior and actions of our employees following the heinous attacks carried out by Hamas in 2023,” explained Stefan Hofmann, chairman of the Bundesliga club and board.
The club suspended the now 30-year-old El Ghazi after pro-Palestinian Instagram posts following attacks on Israel by terrorists in the name of Hamas on October 7. In July, a labor court declared the dismissal without notice as unlawful, Mainz went to the Rhineland-Palatinate state labor court – and was rejected.
“I thank the German court for ensuring justice and seeing through the club’s baseless and absurd claims,” El Ghazi wrote. While talking to the club management, he spoke about “deceived FSV Mainz 05 board members”.
The Tribunal interpreted the posting objectively and, after carrying out the necessary balancing of interests, came to the conclusion that in this case freedom of expression outweighed the interests of the employer. Therefore, an immediate suspension cannot be justified, Mainz said in a statement on Wednesday.
“But in terms of content, we stand by our position: Based on the values and beliefs that define Mainz 05, the continued use of people who express themselves and behave in fundamental opposition to those same principles is not possible in the future,” explained Hofmann.
