Arsenal star Mesut Ozil risks costly wrath of China

China has again imposed a TV blackout after being criticised for its human rights record by a leading sports star.

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil prays before Sunday’s game in London. Picture: AFP.

China has again imposed a TV blackout after being criticised for its human rights record by a leading sports star.

Just months after games involving the Houston Rockets basketball team were banned in China after the club’s general manager backed Hong Kong protesters, the English Premier League and Arsenal are facing a potential multi-million-dollar backlash from Beijing.

China’s state broadcaster CCTV on Sunday removed ­Arsenal’s Premier League game against Manchester City from its broadcast schedule following a message from star midfielder Mesut Ozil in which he criticised the country’s policy towards its Muslim Uighur minority.

The Global Times Newspaper said CCTV took the decision ­because the comments by Ozil, a German Muslim of Turkish heritage, had “disappointed fans and football governing authorities”.

Ozil’s had called Uighurs “warriors who resist persecution” and criticised both China’s crackdown and the silence of Muslims in response. “(In China) Korans are burned, mosques were closed down, Islamic theological schools, madrassas were banned, religious scholars were killed one by one. Brothers are forcefully being sent to camps. Despite all this, Muslims stay quiet,” Ozil wrote on social media.

The decision to impose a blackout on the Arsenal game will be a serious cause of concern for the London club and the Premier League. China is the league’s most lucrative overseas territory — its $US700m TV deal alone is worth £8.75m ($17m) a year to each Premier League club until 2022. Clubs often tour China in pre-season to attract new fans and sponsors.

China has faced growing condemnation for setting up camps in the Xinjiang region, with more than one million Uighurs and other minorities detained for “re-education”.

The Chinese Football Association said Ozil’s comments were “unacceptable” and claimed the player had “hurt the feelings” of Chinese fans.

The Premier League would not comment, while Arsenal said the club has “always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics”.

Arsenal has five million followers on the Chinese social media platform Weibo, on which the club issued the statement.

In October, Beijing made it clear it would take action in response to criticism from sportspeople — a tactic that has divided administrators and players.

After the Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey tweeted in support of Hong Kong pro-democracy protesters, CCTV cancelled its broadcasts of NBA pre-season games. Morey had written: “Fight For Freedom. Stand With Hong Kong.”

Facing the threat of a China boycott, Morey backtracked, saying: “I have always appreciated the significant support our Chinese fans and sponsors … I would hope that those who are upset will know that offending or mis­understanding them was not my ­intention.”

Basketball superstar LeBron James responded by saying Morey “wasn’t educated” on the situation in Hong Kong.

“We do all have freedom of speech, but at times there are ramifications for the negative that can happen when you’re not thinking about others and you’re only thinking about yourself,” James said.

The Times, Reuters