Premier League - Arsenal v Brighton & Hove Albion
Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil used social media to voice out his stance on China's policies in Xinjiang, as well as for the silence of Muslims. (Photo: PHOTO: REUTERS/Eddie Keogh)

China's leading state broadcaster, CCTV, immediately pulled the airing on the airwaves of an English Premier League game involving Arsenal on Sunday, placing Beijing in conflict with a second major global sports league. The Gunners faced the defending champion Manchester City in the marquee matchup this weekend, a couple of days after Arsenal layer Mesut Ozil blasted China's internment of Muslims. Following the incident, Arsenal distances itself from Ozil comments in relation to Uighurs' treatment.

English football club Arsenal tried to distance itself from the comments made by its midfielder Mesut Ozil. The German midfielder posted several messages, on the social networking sites Twitter and Instagram, critical of the policies of China towards the Muslim minority Uighur in the country. On China's Weibo platform, the official account of Arsenal Football Club said on Saturday that the content Ozil expressed is entirely his personal opinion.

As a football club, Arsenal always adheres to the principle of staying out of politics, the English club states. The Arsenal midfielder's post called Uighurs warriors who resisted persecution and lambasted China, as well as the silence of Muslims to the alleged crackdown. The official twitter account of the Gunners did not post any comment addressing Mezut Ozil's posts since Saturday.

Interestingly, replies on the Arsenal's post on Weibo were mostly angry, with some demanding that the German footballer be removed from the club. Originally, China's CCTV planned to air the game live on CCTV 5, which is the station's sports channel. The station, which rarely offers explanations for changes in its airing schedule did not respond to request form comment as to the reason behind the decision not to air the game, CNN reports. PPTV, a Chinese video streaming website, and a popular online platform also pulled the game from its schedule, according to CNN. Meanwhile Sina Sports, an online sports platform shared on Sina Weibo a post stating that remarks made by Mesut Ozil upset his fans in China. Just because he's a well-known sportsman, it doesn't give him the right to comment on issues relating to the national interests, and he needs to explain himself, the post adds.