Barcelona forward, Antoine Griezmann, has announced that he is ending his sponsorship deal with the Chinese telecom giant, Huawei, after continuous persecution of Uighurs in China.
In a recent report, it was revealed that Huawei was involved in the surveillance of Muslim Uighurs. It is alleged that Huawei has developed a facial recognition software that would help the police identify Uighurs.
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Griezmann took to Instagram to announce his decision to cut ties with Huawei.
Griezmann wrote, “Strong suspicions that Huawei has contributed to the development of a ‘Uighurs alert’ through the use of facial recognition software, I am immediately ending my partnership with the company.” He called on Huawei to “not just deny these accusations but to take concrete action as quickly as possible to condemn this mass repression… and to use its influence to contribute to the respect of human rights”.
The persecution of Uighur Muslims in China has been a sensitive issue for quite some time. According to the United Nations, more than one million Uighurs have been detained in camps in the far western province of Xinjiang.
Huawei took Griezmann on board as a brand ambassador in 2017 and has featured prominently in the brand’s advertising in France.
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Griezmann’s decision garnered a lot of support from the fans. However, Huawei said that they are deeply saddened by Griezmann’s decision and denied all reports of developing such software.
Previously, Arsenal midfielder, Mesut Ozil, took a stand against the persecution of Uighurs in China. China responded by banning Arsenal matches on TV in the country and Mesut Ozil was removed from video games in China.
Griezmann is one of the most marketable personalities in football and was one of the key members of the French team that lifted the 2018 FIFA World Cup. he earned a move to one of the biggest football clubs in the world, Barcelona, last summer and has been in fine form this season.