Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil has been deleted from Chinese versions of the Pro Evolution Soccer 2020 video game after speaking out against the treatment of Muslim minorities in the western region of Xinjiang.

China has reportedly been persecuting the predominantly Muslim Uyghur minority in the region, with the Chinese government dismissing accusations as “fake news”. Arsenal matches have since been pulled from the state TV schedule and Chinese football fans have reportedly burned Arsenal shirts in protest at the player’s comments.

US-listed Chinese internet company NetEase said it removed Özil from the game due to his "extreme comment about China" after Özil criticised Muslim countries for failing to speak up about the alleged abuses.

https://twitter.com/MesutOzil1088/status/1205439723302469632

In the above Tweet, Özil stated 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."

Netease then responded to Özils comments, saying that he: "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."

Ozil has used his platform to speak out in support of those facing persecution in Xinjiang and raised global awareness on the crisis. Arsenal have remained apolitical and silent on the matter.

Amnesty International have extensively documented the situation in Xinjiang over the past several years, highlighting that more than 400 people outside of China whose relatives in Xinjiang are still missing, as well as individuals who said they were tortured while in detention camps there. Find out more information about the situation in Xinjiang from the Amnesty website.