Arsenal star Mesut Ozil removed from PES 2020 in China over Uighur Muslims comments
Mesut Ozil has been taken out of PES 2020 in China.
Mesut Ozil, the Arsenal midfielder, has been removed from PES 2020 games in China.
Netease, the Chinese company that operates PES 2020 Mobile and other PES games in the country, said Ozil's comments hurt the feelings of Chinese fans, adding that it doesn't "understand, accept or forgive" his statements.
The Turkish-German athlete called out Chinese government's treatment of Uighur Muslims on his personal social media accounts. China, who said Ozil had been deceived by fake news, had been keeping Muslims in interment camps in its Xinjiang province for "reeducation".
Abacus News reports that Ozil's comments upset Premiere League fans in China, who in turn called him out on social media, and even burned his Arsenal jerseys in protest.
This is the latest in a long list of incidents where companies operating in China have made alterations to their games to appease the Chinese government, though in this case, Konami does not appear to have made this decision. The Japanese creator has yet to comment, however.