German footballer Ozil ties knot, with Erdogan as best man | Turkey News



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German footballer Mesut Ozil made the connection with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, his best man.

The German-Turkish midfielder married her fiancé, actress and model Amine Gulse on Friday during a ceremony along the Bosphorus in Istanbul attended by many statesmen and celebrities.

The wedding photos showed a smiling Erdogan and his wife Emine standing next to the couple as their marriage was formalized.

Ozil and Gulse, who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2014, also made a significant donation to the Turkish Red Crescent to provide food for some 15,000 Syrian refugees.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Ozil sparked a political storm when he was photographed alongside Erdogan last May. [Anadolu]

Controversial

Ozil announced last March that he had asked Erdogan to be his best man.

The chief of staff of German Chancellor Angela Merkel was part of a chorus of criticism of the invitation.

Helge Braun from The ruling party of Germany, the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) At the time, the newspaper Bild had declared that it was "sad" that Ozil was undertaking such an approach while he had been sharply criticized by the German public during his first meeting with Erdogan.

The footballer sparked a political storm when he was photographed alongside Erdogan in May 2018. Critics intensified after the fall of the first round of the World Cup in Germany.

Resignation of Ozil

After the defeat of the summer, Ozil issued a long statement in which he announced his resignation from the national team and accused German football of racism.

Ozil, who now plays for Arsenal, played 92 games with Germany and played a key role in his 2014 World Cup win.

He said Germany's disappointing results in the World Cup were to blame.

Ozil also said that the president of the German Football Federation, Reinhard Grindel, had not given his support when he received hate mail, threatening phone calls and racist comments on social media after the departure of Germany from the World Cup.

"I'm German when we win, but I'm an immigrant when we lose," Ozil said, adding that despite his successes within the team, his way of treating him prompted him to "do not no longer wear the jersey of the German team ". .

Without Ozil, Germany began its run in the UEFA League of Nations with three consecutive bad results. They drew 0-0 at home against France, were beaten 3-0 by the Netherlands and 1-2 against France in a match away.

Germany have also lost six of their last 10 games and have been relegated to League B in the UEFA Nations League.

Erdogan often attends Turkish celebrity weddings, which he particularly looks for during election campaigns.

His presence at the Ozil wedding comes before the election of the mayor of Istanbul on June 23, required after the cancellation of the initial vote in March following a close victory of the Republican People's Party, the main opposition party.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Erdogan often attends Turkish celebrity weddings [Anadolu]

SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies

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