NetEase recently confirmed that they’ve removed Arsenal player Mesut Ozil from the Chinese version of Konami’s Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 due to comments he made about the People’s Republic of China, and condemning them for their treatment of Muslims.

According to Sky Sports, Ozil is a practicing Muslim, and tweeted out his support of fellow Muslims and against China’s treatment of Muslims on December 17th, 2019. It was reported that Ozil said in Turkish…

“Korans are being burnt… Mosques are being shut down… Muslim schools are being banned… Religious scholars are being killed one by one… Brothers are forcefully being sent to camps.

 

“The Muslims are silent. Their voice is not heard.”

The publisher of PES 2020 in China, NetEase, responded by removing Ozil from the game.

Sky Sports explained…

“Shortly afterwards, NetEase announced on its verified Chinese social media accounts Ozil’s comments had “hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sport’s spirit of love and peace”.

 

“We do not understand, accept or forgive this comment.”

The incident even managed to make international news, with GameStar doing a quick story on the censorship.

But it didn’t end there.

According to the Japan Times, Chinese mainland broadcaster, CCTV, pulled games featuring Arsenal as a way to limit Ozil’s exposure in the mainland for condemning the PRC of their treatment toward Muslim Uighurs.

This is similar to what happened with the NBA in China, where CCTV cancelled some games and other sponsors pulled out of the NBA when a general manager showed his support for the protestors fighting for their rights in Hong Kong.

Netease now joins Blizzard Entertainment and the NBA in being pro-censorship and pro-China, showcasing that they don’t respect freedom of speech and will enact vindictive measures against anyone who opposes the PRC.

(Thanks for the news tip Mark Kern)