Noussair Mazraoui remains in the FC Bayern Munich squad after the controversy surrounding a pro-Palestinian social media post. According to a statement from the German football record champions on Friday, the Moroccan full-back regrets the “irritation”. He condemns “every type of terrorism and every terrorist organization,” Mazraoui said in the statement.
The 25-year-old had shared a video on social networks wishing the Palestinians a victory in the conflict with Israel. “Noussair Mazraoui has credibly assured us that, as a peace-loving person, he resolutely rejects terror and war. He regrets if his posts caused irritation,” said CEO Jan-Christian Dreesen. “FC Bayern condemns Hamas’ attack on Israel.” On Saturday (3:30 p.m. in the FAZ live ticker for the Bundesliga and on Sky) against FSV Mainz 05, the full-back was missing but injured.
“FC Bayern and Noussair Mazraoui resolutely oppose the transfer of the Middle East conflict and its violence to Germany, which is committed to peace. Hatred and violence of any kind have no place in Germany’s political culture,” the statement said. “FC Bayern stands on the side of the Jewish community in Germany and on the side of Israel; nothing justifies the murder of children and families.”
No consequences for Bensebaini
Meanwhile, a photo shared by Ramy Bensebaini on Instagram in which he is wearing a scarf with the flags of Algeria and Palestine among the Algerian national team has no consequences for the Borussia Dortmund professional. After consulting with the 28-year-old full-back, the Bundesliga club sees no reason for sanctions.
“His homeland has close ties to the Palestinian territories. With the scarves, the national team expressed its lament for the victims among the civilian population in Gaza, many of whom are children. Ramy assured us in a personal conversation that he only shows solidarity with the Palestinian civilian population,” said the association’s anti-discrimination officer, Daniel Lörcher, to the “Ruhr Nachrichten” (Thursday).
BVB, which has been involved in the Yad Vashem Holocaust memorial for years, did not see the joint action by the Algerian national players as an affront. “We have come to the conclusion that the action is not problematic for us in connection with his statements. We adhere to the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of anti-Semitism, which we adopted two years ago. It describes which statements are problematic, and unlike others that are currently being discussed, his post was certainly not that,” said Lörcher.
Christopher Meltzer Published/Updated: Recommendations: 55 Daniel Theweleit Published/Updated: Recommendations: 6 Published/Updated: Recommendations: 28
Lörcher could have been referring to posts from other football professionals like Mazraoui. FSV Mainz 05 released its professional Anwar El Ghazi on Tuesday after he caused a stir on Instagram with a pro-Palestine post. Hamas terrorists carried out a massacre in the Israeli border area on October 7th, leaving more than 1,400 dead. Israel then began air strikes in the coastal strip.
