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The Editorial of BERLIN
AFP
The decision of the German football star Mesut Özil to leave the country accusing its critics of being "racist" sparked a great deal of controversy in Germany, while in Turkey several ministers hailed his struggle "With great sorrow and after many considerations on what happened, I will not continue to play for the German national team as long as that I will feel this feeling of racism and disrespect, "he said in a statement posted on Twitter. Turkish origin.
World champion in 2014 and key coach Joachim Löw, Özil scored 23 goals in 92 matches with "Mannschaft". Angela Merkel's spokeswoman recalled that the Chancellor "greatly appreciates" the player and that his decision "must be respected". But the German Football Federation rejected accusations of racism.
The popular Bild newspaper had been asking for Ozil's departure for weeks after meeting Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London in May, with whom he had taken several photos, along with another player of Turkish origin , Ilkay Gündogan.
Turkish Minister of Justice Abdülhamit Gül praised Özil on Twitter. "I congratulate Mesut Ozil who, leaving the German national team, scored his best goal against the Fascist virus," wrote Gül on a tweet
PHRASE
Like many people, my roots go beyond the country. I grew up in Germany, but my family history has its roots well established in Turkey. I have two hearts, a german and a turkish. " German player Mesut Özil
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