Equipment man Mark Bonnick has sued Arsenal after he was fired by the membership
After being fired final Christmas eve for posting important remarks about Israel’s actions in Gaza on social media, a longtime worker of Arsenal’s academy named Mark Bonnick has filed a lawsuit in opposition to the Premier League staff.
Who’s Mark Bonnick, ex-Arsenal FC package man sacked by membership for Israel-Palestine posts on Twitter/X
After greater than 20 years of service, Arsenal fired former package man Mark Bonnick. Not for any wrongdoing however merely for standing with Palestine.
There was no misconduct. No hate. Simply solidarity.@Arsenal should apologise, reinstate Mark, and cease silencing help for Palestine. pic.twitter.com/zpRFJvTBR3— Leyla Hamed (@leylahamed) May 16, 2025
The 61-year-old Mark Bonnick spent 22 years with Arsenal in a wide range of positions, most not too long ago as a youth academy package man. He says that on Christmas Eve 2023, he was wrongly fired for posting pro-Palestinian content material on X (beforehand Twitter) and is now suing the membership from wrongful dismisal.
His lawyer, Franck Magennis, who’s being instructed by the European Authorized Help Centre, stated: “Mark Bonnick was proper to talk out, in accordance together with his deeply held anti-Zionist beliefs, in opposition to Israel’s nakedly racist violence and the colonial ideology that justifies it. Arsenal FC dismissed him in an unfair and discriminatory method; they need to admit their mistake and provides him his job again.”
Bonnick, 61 labored his approach up from informal Arsenal teaching roles within the early 2000s to a full-time kitman place supporting the youth groups.
In his grievance to the Employment Tribunal, Bonnick claims that Arsenal violated his proper to free speech and fired him unfairly.
In his authorized submission, Bonnick refers to 5 replies on X in November 2024 and December final 12 months, together with: “Sure it’s all about Jewish supremacy & not eager to share the land Ethnic cleaning”; “Why ought to they be protected anymore than another neighborhood? Some see this as the issue Jewish communities considering they need to be put earlier than others”; “What concerning the Jews that assault Christians?”
Bonnick’s posts stated “Hamas provided to launch all hostages in October. Zionist Israel refused. Persecution advanced”; and on that supply he additionally posted: “You deserted them … Refused to convey them dwelling … Your silence was deafening … Now you need others to scream … Morals integrity honesty none … Mark of Cain.”
Bonnick, who labored on the membership from the early 2000s, alleges his dismissal was discriminatory. On the time of his termination final 12 months, Mark Bonnick, 61, was employed as a package man at Arsenal’s youth participant program and had been part of the London membership’s neighborhood teaching staff for 22 years.
In accordance with Bonnick, he had deliberate to remain at Arsenal till retirement and had collaborated with each present and former gamers together with Jack Wilshere, Bukayo Saka, and Myles Lewis-Skelly.
Arsenal’s former kitman is suing the membership for unfair dismissal over pro-Palestine posts on-line.
Mark Bonnick was kitman for Arsenal for over 20 years when he was fired on Christmas Eve final 12 months.
His dismissal adopted a marketing campaign accusing him of antisemitism for posts opposing… pic.twitter.com/xSDsXn5owA
— PoliticsJOE (@PoliticsJOE_UK) May 16, 2025
Nevertheless, Bonnick was let go from his place on December 24 of final 12 months after the membership instructed him that his pro-Palestine social media remarks had broken the membership’s status.
In accordance with Bonnick, he has had bother discovering employment since then and is at present making what he can by taking up odd duties. In the meanwhile, he works as a labourer on a constructing web site.
Mark Bonnick’s suspension
After receiving a grievance from a bunch of supporters concerning allegedly antisemitic remarks on his account, the membership suspended Mark Bonnick on December 11.
Arsenal acknowledged that his posts weren’t formally thought of antisemitic, however they used public opinion and media protection as grounds for firing him.
Arsenal knowledgeable Bonnick that his use of phrases like “ethnic cleaning” and “Jewish supremacy” in relation to Israel was “inflammatory” and “moderately prone to trigger real offence,” in keeping with data.
Since then, Bonnick has eliminated his X account, claiming that his posts had been taken out of context and distorted. He insists that his remarks had been according to the stances of human rights organizations like Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem, and Amnesty Worldwide and had been part of a broader political critique of Israeli insurance policies.
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