Court rules El Ghazi's contract termination by Mainz was invalid

The Mainz labour court ruled that Anwar El Ghazi's contract termination by Bundesliga club Mainz in connection with pro-Palestine posts was invalid.

Presiding judge Bettina Chaudhry justified the decision saying that there was no breach of duty that would make it necessary to terminate the employment relationship without notice.

The case started when Mainz suspended El Ghazi over a pro-Palestine post on Instagram, which he later deleted, after the October 7 attack on Israel by militant group Hamas from the Gaza Strip.

El Ghazi briefly returned to training after a club statement said he had distanced himself from the post. But El Ghazi swiftly dismissed this in another post, and his contract was terminated without notice by Mainz on November 3.

His contract was to run until 2025. He's entitled to around 1.7 million euros in outstanding salaries and bonus payments and should also be reinstated as a licenced professional.