Arsenal kit man sacked for ‘anti-Semitic’ comments says club put ‘profit before people’
The Arsenal kit man sacked after claiming Israel was guilty of “ethnic cleansing” has tearfully accused the club of putting “profit before people”.
Mark Bonnick is suing Premier League bosses for unfair dismissal, alleging his “anti-Zionist philosophical beliefs” were behind his “discriminatory” dismissal.
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Bonnick, who had worked at Arsenal since the early 2000s, was sacked on Christmas Eve 2024 after posting a series of messages on social media including references to “Jewish supremacy” and “ethnic cleansing”.
In an interview with Raw politics (below), he said: “I just think Arsenal were basically profit before people. »
Bonnick, who said his legal dispute with the club was “going to mediation in June”, also accused them of failing to live up to their own values.
Mark Bonnick, pictured in 2023, was a long-serving Arsenal employee before being fired – Getty Images/David Price
He said: “Talking is cheap. Words are cheap. It’s all about integrity. It’s easy to say things but it’s doing it. You have to live those values, not just say, ‘Oh, there you are. Here’s a nice little phrase.” No. Even at Arsenal I’d go to meetings, and whatever, and you’d hear the actual wording and you’d be like, “Ooh, no. That’s not it. You are I don’t do that.
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Asked what he would like to say to Arsenal’s management, he said: “First of all, I would ask them to go and look at themselves, to review the matter, to see what they did, how they handled it. Also, ask for an independent review and say: ‘What did we do wrong?’
Bonnick said he had been accused of being a “neo-Nazi anti-Semite” for his social media posts and that Arsenal had initially told him he had been suspended for anti-Semitism following a complaint against him. He said the club and the Football Association later acknowledged he had not been anti-Semitic and that the latter found his comments “not inflammatory, not offensive, (but) political”.
He broke down in tears several times after discussing his fight to clear his name, saying: “Sorry, I’m supposed to be a big, tough man.” »
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He also accused Arsenal of taking his messages “out of context” and compared his sacking to that of Bristol University professor David Miller for expressing similar beliefs. Claiming he was challenged at his appeal hearing over his right to do so, he said: “It was just: ‘You’re a big man in kit’.”
He added: “To me, the case is about morality, humanity – on my behalf – integrity. It’s a write-off. People don’t want to hear certain things said.”
In the legal action he launched in May last year, Bonnick said: “Israel is an apartheid state. I was sacked not for misconduct, but for expressing my grief and outrage at the genocide. Although I am so close to retirement, I have no regrets. Arsenal must apologize, reinstate me and take a stand against anti-Palestinian racism.”
The legal team representing Bonnick, a lifelong supporter of the club, argued that he had been targeted by an “online smear campaign coordinated by pro-Israeli Twitter accounts.” They claimed that Bonnick was ultimately fired on the grounds that he had brought the club into disrepute.
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It was reported in December 2024 that Arsenal had received complaints about Bonnick’s posts from one of their supporters groups, with the club saying in a statement at the time: “We are investigating this matter in accordance with our internal policies and procedures. Arsenal opposes all forms of abuse and discrimination.”
The club and the FA have been contacted for comment.
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