FC Cologne are pulling out of a deal to run a football academy in China, with a member of the club council saying they should not support “such a totalitarian and brutal dictatorship”. I have followed developments in China for more than 20 years and I have been there several times. Facebook Twitter Pinterest Mesut Özil’s comments on social media were met with anger among Arsenal fans in China. Photograph: Robin Jones/Getty Images“Regarding the comments made by Mesut Özil on social media, Arsenal must make a clear statement,” it read. Don’t they know that giving consent for persecution is persecution itself?”

Source: The Guardian December 18, 2019 12:45 UTC