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The president of the German Football Federation admitted to making mistakes in dealing with a controversy over Mesut Ozil's photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, but firmly rejected accusations of racism.
Ozil announced his retirement from the German national team on the weekend. He criticized the Federation (DFB), President Reinhard Grindel, the fans and the media for what he saw as racism in the treatment of people with Turkish roots. He defended the pre-World Cup match with Erdogan, who is widely criticized in Germany for being more and more authoritarian.
Ozil was particularly scathing about Grindel, who accused him and his teammate Ilkay Gundogan of being "exploited" by Erdogan. political purposes. After the embarrbading exit of the first round of the World Cup in Germany, Grindel called Ozil to provide an "answer" in the photo.
The Arsenal star said that Grindel was "condescending", denounced his "incompetence" and baderted that "In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am a immigrant when we lose. "
In his first personal response, Grindel stated in a written statement that he regretted criticism of the federation. "In retrospect, as president, I should have said unambiguously what is obvious to me personally and to all of us as a federation: any form of racist hostility is intolerable and unacceptable," he said. he adds. writes
Grindel rebelled against being linked to racism, writing: "I reject this energetically, for the federation and for me personally." Grindel's statement did not address his own future. The former 56-year-old politician with the conservative party of German Chancellor Angela Merkel became president of the DFB in 2016.
He faced calls for resignation in recent days of critics who criticize him its crisis management. No senior German football official has resigned during the debacle of the World Cup.
He however stated that the DFB should "develop" its work on integration and stressed the importance of winning the 2024 European Championship. Germany and Turkey are bidding for the tournament and the executive committee of UEFA will choose the host in September
"The tournament could tell a new football story, bring children to clubs, bring people together – with or without immigrant roots "Grindel wrote. "United by football."
Meanwhile, the speaker of the German parliament added his voice to criticism of how the DFB has handled the Ozil case. "I still do not understand why people at the DFB have allowed such a state affair." Said Wolfgang Schaeuble to the RedaktionsNetzwerk Deutschland press group. "It's a shame."
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