Arsenal attempted to distance itself from MF Mesut Özil's comments on Saturday, saying in a statement on Chinese social media platform Weibo that is remarks "were his personal opinion." The club said, "As a football club, Arsenal has always followed the principle of not interfering in politics." The player's messages on Twitter and Instagram "blamed both China for its persecution of the Uighur ethnic group and Muslim countries for their silent response" (FINANCIAL TIMES, 12/15). Arsenal was warned China is "set to maintain its state-sponsored media blackout against the club" unless execs apologize for Özil's post (London TELEGRAPH, 12/16).
Arsenal's attempt to distance itself from Özil’s comments "failed to calm the situation" completely, as several Chinese soccer fan sites said that they will "stop posting news related to Özil," according to Shanghai-based The Paper (London GUARDIAN, 12/16).
Arsenal has a specialist team in China which is "focused on growing the club’s brand in the country." Club Managing Dir Vinai Venkatesham said earlier this year that Asia is "critical" for Arsenal, adding that "many of their commercial partners are active in China" (TELEGRAPH, 12/15). China represents a huge foreign market for the club, which has more than 5 million followers on Weibo and "plans for a chain of Arsenal-themed restaurants in the country." China is also the EPL's biggest int'l buyer of TV rights (WALL STREET JOURNAL, 12/15).
