[ad_1]
BERLIN (AFP) – Mesut Ozil said Sunday (July 22) he was quitting the German national football team, citing "racism" in the criticism of the aftermath of the World Cup debacle.
Ozil, who has Turkish roots
In a four-page statement sent out in three images on the subject of a controversial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan Twitter and Instagram, an angry Ozil saved his bombshell for the final salvo.
"It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will not have to play for feeling of racism and disrespect, "he said.
The Arsenal midfielder blamed the German Football Federation (DFB) for failing to defend against the most strident critics.
DFB Chairman Richard Grindel, "he said."
He said that Grindel and Germany coach Joachim Loew had asked for a "joint statement to end all" Erdogan.
"Whilst I was trying to explain to Grindel my heritage, ancestry and reasoning behind the photo, he was far more interested in talking about his own political views and belittling my opinion. " Ozil, 29, said he had been unfairly blamed in Germany for the side's shock first-round defeat at the World Cup.
"I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his (Grindel's) incompetence and inability to do his job properly, "he said.
" In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose. " Ozil had said that it was more likely that he did not want to make a political statement by appearing with Erdogan.
'I have two hearts'
"Like many people, my ancestry traces back to more than one country Whilst I grew up in Germany, "he said.
" I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish. " Ozil said that despite the timing of the picture with teammate Ilkay Gundogan and Erdogan – shortly before the president won re-election in a poll with new powers – "it was not about politics or elections, it was about me
"My job is a football player and not a politician," Ozil added
Germany is home to more than three million people of Turkish origin.
Manchester City midfielder Gundogan presented Erdogan with a signed club shirt on which he had written "to my president".
The two players were booed by German fans in pre-World Cup friendlies
'Right-wing propaganda'
The right to wing propaganda
19659014 ]
The right to wing propaganda
19659014 ]
"If a newspaper or pundit finds fault in a game I can accept this," he said. said.
"But what I can not accept is a media outlet for my dual-heritage and a single picture for a bad World Cup on an entire squad," he added, calling it "right-wing propaganda "
" This crosses a personal line that should never be crossed, as newspapers try to turn the nation of Germany against me. " He also furiously denounced disparaging remarks by Captain Lothar Matthaeus, who he noted, "in the face of another world leader" (19659002) And Ozil railed against an unnamed sponsor, who, he said, removed from the videos of the World Cup after the pictures with Erdogan emerged.
"For them, it was not longer crisis management situation, "he said.
[ad_2]
Source link
