Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil has criticized China for mistreating the Uighur Muslims in Xinjiang.
Ozil, who is a Muslim, described the Uighur Muslims as "heroic and anti-oppressors" on his social networking site.
He also criticized the other Muslim countries for their actions.
HoweverChinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Geng Shuang said Ozil was "brainwashed with fake news" before commenting.Geng said: "I do not know whether Ozil ever came to Xinjiang himself, but he seems to have been bombarded with rumors and his comments are full of lies.
"If Ozil gets the chance, we would like to visit Xinjiang to catch his eye."
Several human rights groups say nearly one million people - mostly Muslims of the Uighur tribe - are detained in secure prisons, without justice.
China has repeatedly denounced the abuse, saying it is "being educated in correctional institutions" to root out extremism from their hearts.
Shortly after Ozil's comments, CCTV-owned television, the Chinese government, removed Premier League matches between Arsenal and Manchester City from its scheduled matches.
Baidu's proprietorship page downloaded a tweet from Ozil's supporters and said: "When it comes to national interests we have nothing to do with anyone else's wishes."
The Chinese Football Federation says Ozil's comments are "unacceptable" and "devastating" to fans.
On Saturday, Arsenal distanced itself from Ozil's comments, saying he had "no part in the team".
Ozil played in Manchester City's 3-0 defeat to Arsenal at the Emirates on Sunday, expressing his frustration at being substituted.
This led to Arsenal fans yelling at him as he left the pitch.
