DOHA, Qatar (AP) – Arsenal forward Mesut Ozil should not have spoken out to denounce human rights in China, former Barcelona and Manchester City midfielder Yaya Toure said on Tuesday, fresh from a brief stint playing in the country.
While saying the situation is ''complicated'' because they are both Muslim, Toure adopts a different approach to Ozil over whether athletes should use their platforms to discuss political issues.
Ozil's criticism last week of Beijing's crackdown on Muslims in Xinjiang led to Arsenal's match being pulled from Chinese television. The Chinese government accused Ozil of being ''blinded and misled'' before protesting about mass detentions and the closure of mosques in the northwest region.