Footballer Mesut Ozil hangs up his boots

German footballer Mesut Ozil announced Sunday his retirement from the national team, as a result of the controversy surrounding his recent meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Ozil was heavily criticized after it was over. He, along with his teammate, Ilkay Gundogan, who has a Turkish ancestry, posed for a photo with Erdogan at a charity event in May.

In a series of tweets, Ozil, who himself has Turkish roots, issued a lengthy statement defending his meeting with Erdogan and criticizing the German media for "politicizing" the whole episode.

Arsenal midfielder, 29 years old "I am aware that the picture of us has caused a huge reaction in the German media, and although some people may accuse me of lying or being misleading , the picture we took had no political intention.Erdogan did not talk about politics or elections, it was about me to respect the highest office of the country of my family. "

Taking the German media for his double standards, Ozil said that he could not stomach the fact that the media blame his German-Turkish heritage and" a simple image of a bad World Cup on behalf of an entire team. "

"What I find also disappointing are the media doubles Lothar Matthaus (national team captain) met A few days ago, another world leader has received no media criticism", a- he said.

Speaking to the German media for criticizing his Turkish ancestry, Ozil said, "They have not criticized my performance." The team's performance, they have simply criticized my Turkish ancestry and respect for my education.This goes through a personal line that should never be crossed, as newspapers are trying to turn me against Germany. "

" Some German newspapers use my web background and my photo with President Erdogan as a right-wing propaganda to advance their political cause.How did he use images and titles as a direct explanation of the defeat in Russia? ", he adds.

Citing racism, Ozil continues: "In the eyes of (DFB President Reinhard) Grindel and his followers, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose. in Germany, giving facilities to German schools and winning the World Cup with Germany in 2014, I'm still not accepted in society.I am treated as 'different'. Are there any criteria for being entirely German that I do not fit in? My friends Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are never considered German-Polish, so why am I German-Turkish? "

The midfielder of The 29-year-old said he felt junk and his contribution to German national football since its debut in 2009 had been forgotten.

Ozil lamented that he was hanging his international boots with a heavy heart, adding that he had a feeling of "racism and disrespect."

"The treatment I received from the DFB [German Football Association] and many others do not make me want to wear the jersey of the German national team," he said. added.

Ozil signed by declaring that "racism should never be accepted"

The German city of Gelsenkirchen, Ozil, has obtained 92 caps, scoring 23 goals since its debut in 2009 and played a key role in the triumph of Germany against Argentina in 2014 .was actually against South Korea in this year r FIFA World Cup Russia, where his team dropped to a surprise defeat of 2-0, which saw Germany eliminated for the first time in group stage in 80 years.