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If German politicians like Angela Merkel said they respected the decision of Mesut Özil to leave Nationalmannschaft the press continues to blame the player for being close to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Mesut Ozil disappointed during the match Mexico-Germany. (Richard Martin / L'Equipe)
In Germany, the controversy swells after Mesut Özil's international retirement announcement, wounded by the critics received before and during the world about its origins. While Turkey has generally supported the decision of the Arsenal player, hailing his "fight against fascism", the reaction turned out to be very different across the Rhine. On Monday morning, the German press attacked the player quite virulently. Starting with the daily Bild, the first media to denounce the attitude of Özil, who had appeared on social networks in photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. A behavior perceived as a mark of support for an authoritarian leader and a lack of loyalty to Germany a few weeks away from the World Cup.
In its edition of the day, Bild denounces a "resignation made of jeremiads disjointed" and accuses the world champion 2014 to support "a despot" who seeks to impose a "Islamist dictatorship" . The newspaper then reviews the sporting performance of the gunner Arsenal, and criticizes the level "lamentable" of the player, who participated in the early elimination of the Mannschaft at the Russian World Cup, in the first round .
From his On the other hand, the Berlin daily T agesspiegel denounces "the populist atmosphere that reigns in Germany. The departure of Mesut Özil is a sport, political and societal break. It's more than the future of the national 11 that is at stake ", can we read.
But the reactions do not stop there. Asked by the chain Sport1 on the decision of the former Real Madrid player, Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeness criticized the player's performance since his debut with the German selection. "For me, Özil had an alibi for years, he did not help the German team at all (…) When did he last pass an opponent? ? Nobody questioned him athletically. Now he can hide behind Erdogan's story. He played like shit for years and now it's the fault of Reinhard Grindel [président de la fédération allemande de football] or Bierhoff " Hoeness alarmed.
In his 4-page letter published on Twitter to justify his decision, the 29-year-old midfielder had indeed denounced a racist attitude on the part of the German federation. "In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose" reproached Mesut Özil.
Faced with this surge of criticism, Joachim Löw's now-ex-protégé was able to count on the support of several German political figures, starting with Chancellor Angela Merkel, who is known to particularly appreciate the player. Arsenal. "As you know, the Chancellor is very fond of Mesut Özil. He is a football player who has done a lot for the national team. Mesut Özil has now made a decision that must be respected " said Ulrike Demmer spokeswoman Angela Merkel on Monday.
The German Justice Minister Katarina Barley, for her part, felt that this was "a warning signal when a great German football player like Mesut Özil no longer felt represented in his country because of racism ".
Emilien DIAZ
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