Mainz 05 are appealing the latest ruling in the labor dispute involving former player Anwar El Ghazi. The twice capped Dutch international has thus far successfully sued his former Bundesliga club for...
Mainz 05 are appealing the latest ruling in the labor dispute involving former player Anwar El Ghazi. The twice capped Dutch international has thus far successfully sued his former Bundesliga club for backpay after the premature termination of his contract in the autumn of 2023. Mainz released El Ghazi following pro Palestinian social media posts that questioned Israel’s right to exist.
The issue is a thorny one. For obvious reasons, anti-semitic speech is banned in the German Bundesrepublik. On the other hand, the German federal republic’s constitutional laws protect free speech and the freedom of expression so long as a specific delineated line is not crossed. In his post, El Ghazi called for a free state of Palestine “from the river to the sea”. Such words do imply that the state of Israel should be abolished, but may fall short of direct “hate speech”.
El Ghazi has won all legal rulings on all levels in Germany. In November, a regional labor court in the Rhineland Palatinate ruled that El Ghazi’s speech was protected and, as such, the player was entitled to the backpay awarded to him in a local Mainz labor court. At first, it seemed doubtful that Mainz would lodge an appeal. The Federal Court in Erfurt can still decide against hearing the appeal.
“We take note of this step and will adjust our plans accordingly,” El Ghazi lawyer Alexander Bergweiler noted of the latest twist in the case that Germans continue to follow closely. “Until a decision is made by the Federal Labor Court [about hearing the case], the decision of the Regional Labor Court remains valid.”
Category: General Sports
