Late last week Arsenal midfielder Mesut Özil posted a statement on Twitter which condemned China's treatment of Uighur Muslims, and now it seems as if he's been blocked from eFootball PES 2020 in China as a result.
"The German player Ozil posted an extreme statement about China on social media," NetEase, the company that publishes the game in China, said in a statement, as shared by the BBC.
"The speech hurt the feelings of Chinese fans and violated the sports spirit of love and peace. We do not understand, accept or forgive this."
The treatment of Uighur Muslims has been criticised by various countries at the UN earlier in 2019. However, Arsenal has since distanced itself from Özil's comments, calling themselves "apolitical", adding that the club "has always adhered to the principle of not involving itself in politics."
That hasn't stopped the Chinese authorities from taking action against the Gunners and their last match (against Manchester City in the league) was not shown in China following Özil's statement.
YouTuber Felix 'Pewdiepie' Kjellberg was banned in China following jokes about Blizzard's punishment of Hearthstone player Ng 'Blitzchung' Wai Chung, who made comments supporting Hong Kong protestors, so this isn't the first time we've heard a story like this.
It doesn't seem as though scenarios like this will stop happening anytime soon. What do you make of the situation?