London: Chinese television pulled coverage of Arsenal's Premier League match against Manchester City after Mesut Ozil, a forward for the London club, criticised Beijing's brutal mass crackdown on ethnic Muslims in the country.

Ozil added to condemnation of the detention of more than 1 million Uighurs and other minorities in so-called re-education camps in China's northwestern region of Xinjiang, where they are subjected to political indoctrination, torture, beatings, and food deprivation, as well as denial of religious and linguistic freedom.

Arsenal's Mesut Ozil warms up prior the English Premier League soccer match between Arsenal and Manchester City, that was pulled off Chinese TV. Credit:AP

A social media post from Ozil on Friday denounced China for burning Korans, closing mosques and the killing of religious scholars. The Arsenal player complained that "Muslims stay quiet".

The Chinese Football Association expressed "great indignation and disappointment" at Ozil's comments, according to the Global Times newspaper published by the ruling Communist Party.