The German star of Turkish origin, Masoud Ozil (Arsenal English player), condemned the silence of the Islamic world on the violations committed by China against the Uighurs Muslims in the Xinjiang region, and his club was not late to distance himself from the player's statements and considered that the latter's statement "expresses his personal opinion."
In the first implication of this statement, Chinese state television decided not to transfer the Arsenal-Manchester City match tonight.
According to the tweet of an English-speaking Chinese newspaper, "Chinese TV decided to delete today's match between Arsenal and Man City from the broadcast schedule. Ozil's wrong comments about the Xinjiang region disappointed the hopes of the Chinese fans and football officials in the country, and the match may not be transferred directly via the BBC Digital TV (broadcasts the matches live).
Instead of this week's Premier League summit, Chinese television will transmit Tottenham's arch-rival Arsenal rivalry with Wolverhampton.
And it is not the first time - according to the British newspaper Mirror - that Chinese television is boycotting a sporting event for a political stance, as it did not transmit the professional basketball game to the American Houston Rockets because of a tweet for his coach expressing his support for the protesters in Hong Kong.
This came in a statement posted on his account on "Twitter" under the title "East Turkestan ... the bleeding tower of the Islamic nation."
"The Islamic world is mired in silence, at a time when Western media highlights abuses in East Turkestan," the Muslim player said.
Ozil, in his statement, denounced that China pressured the forced displacement of Uighur Muslims.
"In East Turkestan, the Koran is burned, mosques are closed, schools are forbidden, and religious scholars are killed one by one, and the male brothers are forcibly taken to camps."
Ozil pointed out that "the Chinese authorities place a communist man inside every Muslim family in East Turkistan after the Muslim men market to concentration camps, in addition to forcing Muslim women to marry the Chinese."
In October 2016, the authorities embarked on a "home-hosting" program in which 110,000 cadres from the Chinese "Han" community visit Muslim families in East Turkestan every two months on the pretext of "promoting ethnic harmony" between the Uighurs and the Han.
At the beginning of 2018, the authorities extended this program so that staff spent at least five days every two months in the homes of these families. There is no indication as to whether or not they can refuse these visits.
"The nation of Muhammad is silent, has no voice, and Muslims do not defend them, not knowing that acceptance of injustice is another injustice," Ozil said.
He concluded his statement with a prayer for the Uighur Muslims, "O Lord, be with our brothers in East Turkestan ... God is the best of cunning."
Arsenal was not long behind in responding quickly, The Guardian reported that the London team "distanced itself" from Ozil's recent remarks, and said in a statement "With regard to Ozil's comments on the media, the published content is the player's personal opinion. As a football team, Arsenal is bound Always the principle of not involving himself in politics. "
China has been in control of the East Turkestan region since 1949, which is home to the Turkish Muslim Uighur minority, and they call it "Shenjiang", meaning the new frontier.
Since that date, army forces have been deployed in the region, especially after the heightened tension between the "Han, Uighur" nationalities, especially in the cities of Urumqi, Kashgar, Khen, and Turfan, which the Uighurs make up the majority of its population.
Since 2009, the region has witnessed bloody violence in which about two hundred people have been killed, according to official figures.
On November 17, the New York Times published a report that revealed leaked Chinese government documents that contained details of the repression of a million Uighurs and other Muslims in East Turkestan concentration camps.