PES 2020: Mesut Ozil Will Be Removed From The Game

Over the past year, we have heard many times about the pressure exerted by the Chinese authorities, offended either by comments about censorship or by the unflattering portrayal of Bruce Lee. Now Mesut Ozil, the Arsenal footballer, has been targeted by the Chinese government. He had the audacity to denounce the Chinese government on social media for the persecution of Muslim Uyghurs in Xinjiang, citing documents released in late November. In response, state television CCTV canceled the broadcast of Arsenal's Sunday match against Manchester City. But that's not all. According to British newspaper The Independent, Mesut Ozil will be removed from the Chinese version of three PES games, including eFootbal PES 2020. NetEase, the company responsible for distributing the game in China, announced in a statement on Weibo (via The Independent) that the words of the former the German representative offended the Chinese fans and violated the "sporting spirit":

This case was also referred to by the Chinese Foreign Minister, according to whom Ozil was the victim of "false news". Arsenal themselves have also distanced themselves from the player's records - the club said the player presented his personal opinion. It seems doubtful that Ozil did not anticipate such a reaction. In any case, he achieved his goal, because the case of the persecution of the Uyghurs once again received media attention. He may miss his performance in this year's Chinese version of PES, but he probably feels like a moral winner either way.