Gaming company NetEase says in a press release that it is due to Özil's "extreme comments about China" and that they do not "understand, accept or will forgive the comments".
Mesut Özil plays for Germany but has its roots in Turkey. It was in a post on Twitter that he condemned China's treatment of the Uyghur people, a Muslim minority group that for the most part resides in the autonomous region of Xinjiang in northwestern China. According to several human rights organizations, over one million people, mainly Uyghurs, are in so-called retraining camps.
Among other things, Özil wrote: “Qurans are burned up, mosques are locked, Muslim schools are closed. Religious practitioners were killed one by one. Brothers are forced to sit in camps ”.
The statement prompted Chinese television to honor Sunday's Premier League summit between Arsenal and Manchester City. China's foreign ministry claims that Özil has been "fooled by fake news".