What a weird thread this is turning into.
Ozil, China, Arsenal, PL, Hypocrisy...
- Thread starter adexkola
- Start date
I wonder if you've changed your tone about this after what's happening in Hong Kong in recent months?
I think it's safe to say that mainland China is 'low maintenance' when it comes to freedom of speech. And, in recent years, not months, we could be seeing a very 'low maintenance' HK too.
Tell you one thing - regardless of what you believe is right or wrong in athletes expressing their world views/opinions - Michael Jordan was arguably right to stay away from all of that when people pushed him not to. You can't really win no matter what and it will tarnish your reputation as an athlete.
That's not to say I personally believe as a whole athletes shouldn't do it, it's their prerogative and it can definitely do good (I. E. See Rashford's recent efforts) - but it's easy end up with hypocritical opinions and to simply not being able to please all. It's probably somewhat akin to being a lottery winner and folks coming to you asking for money - you can never do enough or do the right thing.
That's not to say I personally believe as a whole athletes shouldn't do it, it's their prerogative and it can definitely do good (I. E. See Rashford's recent efforts) - but it's easy end up with hypocritical opinions and to simply not being able to please all. It's probably somewhat akin to being a lottery winner and folks coming to you asking for money - you can never do enough or do the right thing.
You really have to be simpleminded to expect any progress if whoever speaks out against injustice has to be perfect and free of hypocrisy.
Ozil being chummy about Erdogan has no bearing on the validity of his statements about China. They remain valid and worthy of thought by all (including Ozil himself who should re-evaluate his relationship with Erdogan).
Ozil being chummy about Erdogan has no bearing on the validity of his statements about China. They remain valid and worthy of thought by all (including Ozil himself who should re-evaluate his relationship with Erdogan).
No one is saying they have to be perfect. It's just a bit too fecking rich to be nagging about issues in China while nurturing a friendship with Erdogan, of all people.
Sorry but that is a ridiculously insulting thing to say. A poor Turkish immigrant growing up in Germany during the 90s and early twenties , would have unquestionably been subjected to racism and it's extremely naive to think otherwise.
He’s a massive hypocrite but that doesn’t make him any less right about this issue. I question why he doesn’t have the same energy for his buddies oppression of Kurds though.
I wonder why Ozil chose to represent Germany when he seems to clearly identify with his Turkish roots more than his birthplace.
I wonder why Ozil chose to represent Germany when he seems to clearly identify with his Turkish roots more than his birthplace.
I think people can draw comparisons between China and Erdogan when Turkey has concentration camps, forced sterilisation, and state sponsored rape of minority women.
So criticize his friendship with Erdogan, and also accept his valid points about China, understanding they are coming from someone who is being a bit rich. Don't throw out the baby with the bathwater.
1million € a month after tax and hasn't done anything of noteworthy for how long now?
That contract he got from Wenger was like a feck you to Ars fans
edit: last 23 games 3 assists 1 goal
Lingard-esque
That contract he got from Wenger was like a feck you to Ars fans
edit: last 23 games 3 assists 1 goal
Lingard-esque
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What a bizarre post. Mainland Chinese people have been celebrating the fact that China has passed the national security law. The general consensus is that it's time to clamp down on the "HK mobs" and hopefully put a stop to the western influence on HK politics.
Why not go to Chinese social media sites like weibo.com, zhihu.com etc. and see for yourself. Google translate is your friend.
Says it all when his thread gets bumped and none of it is football related
Err.. Because this seems to be a thread about non football related stuff
He is right on the paycut. Every player has a right to know the whole situation. They need not sign up for paycuts only for political correctness
Maybe he should ask the "best man" at his wedding to stop deporting Uighurs via third country to China first. Or maybe ask his friend to stop targetting Kurds. Would be much better than showing his feelings via press release.
As far as Paycut is concerned, its perfectly fine to refuse when you know Arsenal can afford it.
As far as Paycut is concerned, its perfectly fine to refuse when you know Arsenal can afford it.
Aren't you using the same whataboutism that clouds any discussion about anything though ? You say he's right, throw a blanket over it and ask about something else.
He probably chose Germany like a lot of players chose France over their second nationality. Plus you make that choice very young, it's not like he could switch to Turkey.
@GifLord: what has this got to do with anything ?
Do you not think it’s hypocritical to highlight oppression of one whilst conveniently ignoring oppression of another being committed by someone he is linked to?
Forget about the team you support or how much you may admire him as a player, there’s undeniable hypocrisy here.
It is but for you and me who are cozy spectators of the world's misery, it doesn't change anything. The team i support has nothing to do with it, you could replace Ozil's name with Rooney or Dele Alli and i'd think the same. There's a lot of things that are wrong in the world and all you can do is try to change things when you can.
Say Rashford was muslim and spoke up on the subject. What would happen ? Would United back him and lose hundreds of millions of chinese money even though you're the richest club in the world ? Would all supporters & journos, regardless of the team they support rally around him ?
Do you chose to extend a hand for a message that you believe in depending on who is bearing it ? Isn't that the real underlying hypocrisy ?
I didn't like Arsenal's stance at the time and i still don't like it, the same way i hate Lebron's and by extension the NBA's stance on China. I'm definitely not the most informed or the most apt to talk about this issue but when we're talking about actual people dying, getting raped and brain-washed i could not give a flying feck about how much money little Mesut pockets every week or how many assists he made. Or that he was having a lovely summer in Erdogan's mansion.
Try to save those people who are affected then deal with the rest.
This.
Is the paycut thing not because the world is economic meltdown, and millions are risking poverty and being out of work, so it's a bit sick some effortless guy like him is still trousering 350k a week?
Our owner is a literal billionaire. It's a bit odd that Ozil is getting criticised for refusing a paycut whilst Kroenke gets off scot free
When the players in the league had a big plan to take cuts, and you're one of the highest earners in the country and refuse to, it's not a good look.
In hindsight he made the right decision to question it though. What was the point of the players taking a paycut if we ended up getting rid of staff eventually anyway?
Except, as per the Athletic article, Arsenal were the only team to take pay cuts rather than wage deferrals, which is what the other teams did. Ozil's agent said that he would agree to a wage deferral but not a wage cut, unless they would provide an explanation for it. They didn't, and then went on to fire some of their staff eventhough the wage cuts were particularly to prevent that.
The baby is already dead with it's intestines floating in the water.
Fair enough.
I expect someone like Ozil probably makes plenty of donations etc on the quiet anyway.
That's often the better way to do it.
Hong Kong may be destroyed by the CCP sooner rather than later, but won't be behaving the way CCP wants at all.
Mainland Chinese celebrate whatever Xi wants them to celebrate.
I make a habit of avoiding sites deemed unsafe by VPN providers.
I do read Chinese (even though I hate the simplified version).
Yeah, that was a middle-finger job by Wenger, proper sabotage.1million € a month after tax and hasn't done anything of noteworthy for how long now?
That contract he got from Wenger was like a feck you to Ars fans
edit: last 23 games 3 assists 1 goal
Lingard-esque
The freedom of speech of the Chinese is that they can blame the US government or the HK students on the internet, but if they try to blame Xi or the mainland government, next minute they would be in prison. So you can only hear one kind of voice from the Chinese on internet.
No worries. I'm sure the ccp will find recipients for those donated intestines.
I thought we had complicated issues.
Ozil talking against China has morphed into what aboutism across the board. He can be right about China, and wrong about other issues and people. .
Ozil talking against China has morphed into what aboutism across the board. He can be right about China, and wrong about other issues and people. .
You win this analogy... Cause yikes
Sorry but I laughed seeing this.
Don't know what is your criteria for 'destroyed' and I don't think you speak for all HK people.
But surely the votes in the District Council Election speak for HK people, at least a majority of them.
SHould we also discredit the BLM movement because there's a lot of people supporting Obama in it? You know the guy with more blood on his hands than Erdogan could ever dream of?
Ozil endorsing Erdogan doesn't change anything what he's said really.
The CCP has alreday managed to get Pompeo to ban "made in HK" products, next step should be restriction in USD trading, after that SWIFT comes into play.
There is no financial center without USD trading.
I certainly don't speak for ALL HKers, there is a signficant minority of pro-CCP people (locally known as blue corpse), but certainly the majority as @hmchan points out:
And the CCP has also managed to make Trump revoke HK's special status. Punitive tariffs will be applied to HK products and sensitive technologies will no longer be exported to HK.