Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has been deleted from Chinese versions of the popular Pro Evolution Soccer (PES) mobile game, the title's China distributor has said, as the fallout builds over his criticism of the country's treatment of its Uighur minority, reports AFP.
US-listed Chinese internet company NetEase said it removed Ozil from the game due to his "extreme comment about China."
Ozil, a German national of Turkish origin, condemned China's crackdown on Muslim minorities in the western region of Xinjiang in a tweet last Friday and criticised Muslim countries for failing to speak up about the alleged abuses.
Arsenal has distanced itself from his comments, while China said his tweets were "untruthful" and that he was "deceived by fake news".
Rights groups and experts say more than one million Uighurs and other mostly Muslim minorities have been incarcerated, part of a long-term government response to tame years of persistent violent unrest against Beijing's control of Xinjiang.
Ozil had tweeted 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."
