Arsene Wenger defends Arsenal's Mesut Ozil over comments on Uighur Muslims

The 31-year-old’s remark has led to harsh backlash in China

Arsene Wenger now works for Fifa (Getty)

Arsene Wenger has defended Mesut Ozil following comments made by the Arsenal midfielder condemning treatment of Uighur Muslims.

Ozil, a German of Turkish origin, condemned China’s persecution of Muslim minorities in the western region of Xinjiang in a tweet to his millions of followers last week.

The 31-year-old’s remark has led to harsh backlash in China, with the Chinese Football Association going as far as to issue a statement that Ozil had “hurt the feelings of the Chinese People”.

Wenger said: “Mesut Ozil has the freedom of speech like everybody else and he uses his notoriety to express his opinions which are not necessarily shared by everybody, but he has the right to do that.

“You are a human being, you have an opinion, and then when you play football you play football. You do your job first and you have to respect that.”

In response to Ozil’s comment the Chinese state broadcaster CCTV pulled its coverage of Arsenal’s Premier League game against Manchester City last weekend.

Arsenal have separated themselves from their midfielder’s comments, but Chinese state media warned that they would have “serious implications” for his club.

On Tuesday, the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo denounced China’s reaction over the matter.

Wenger added: “What is important is that Ozil has an individual responsibility. He does not carry the word of Arsenal Football Club, so what he says is about himself and not about Arsenal.

“When you make a comment about your individual opinion, you accept the consequences of it.”

Wenger departed from Arsenal in May 2018 after 22 years in charge, however continues to monitor the club closely and admits to being saddened by Arsenals current struggles.

The 70 year old is currently in Qatar – where this week’s Club World Cup is taking place – in his new role as Fifa’s Chief of Global Football Development.