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Mesut Ozil with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. (Source: YouTube) About a month ago, the world witnessed a spectacular match between Serbia and Switzerland at the 2018 FIFA World Cup. Granite Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri – two ethnic Albanians – have clashed. nation that started the genocide in their home country and made their families refugees. While Shaqiri's family fled to Switzerland when he was young, Xhaka moved even before he was born. Both found a new home in Switzerland and represented the nation at the highest level.
But that did not change the fact that & # 39; Xhaka & # 39; and & # 39; Shaqiri & # 39; – unlike 'Zuber & # 39; or & # 39; Lichsteiner & # 39; – are not Swiss, but Albanian names. The two players celebrated the goal with an Albanian eagle gesture in front of the world despite the Swiss jersey, reminding that football is not played in the void.
A month later, five-time German player of the year Mesut Ozil left international football by bitterly accusing racism, said the president of the German Football Federation (DFB) Reinhard Grindel. "In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I'm German when we win, but I'm an immigrant when we lose," writes Ozil in a long farewell statement that once again establishes that racism can not to be removed from football.
Twenty-nine years, Ozil announced his release on Twitter, after defending the photo taken with Erdogan and Ilkay Gundogan of Manchester City in May. "It was not politics or elections, but the highest function of the country of my family," wrote Ozil to finally break his silence on London
Mesut Ozil with l & # 39; German head coach Joachim Loew during FIFA. 2018 World Cup. Ozil was born in Gelsenkirchen to Turkish parents and his talent was discovered by local club Schalke, whom he left in 2008 for the Werder Bremen Bundesliga. The young German experienced an international breakthrough at the 2010 World Cup and four years later, played an important role in guiding his team to the title. The same year, he gets a dream transfer to Real Madrid for $ 21 million.
It is at this time that Ozil experienced his first experience of discrimination. The shy midfielder was booed while playing for Germany at the Berlin Olympic Stadium in October 2010 in a qualifying match of the European Championship against Turkey. The German capital has a large Turkish community and many of them were present in the stands that day, supporting the team on the outside. There was loud whistling every time Ozil got the ball – just because he had chosen to play for Germany.
Interestingly, three other players who took the field tonight – Nuri Sahin, as well as the Hamit brothers and Halil Altintop – are all born The industrial region of the Ruhr in Germany. But, unlike Ozil, they chose to represent Turkey.
In interviews, he always avoided questions about his legacy and only once, in 2015, he expressed his anger at being labeled "German-Turk". "Many forget that I was born in Gelsenkirchen, I grew up in Germany," he had railed.
However, his last attack on Grindel is a direct challenge for the DFB. "I will not play for Germany anymore … while I have that feeling of racism and disrespect," wrote Ozil
When Ozil met Erdogan – [19659003]
While loyal fans try to show that sport brings together people from different cultures, the truth is that discrimination has been an integral part of it over the years . It is because of this that in 2011, Luiz Suarez had told Patrice Evra that he "does not speak to blacks" and that he was found guilty of having used the word "negro" seven times.
Even the former world champions of Spain have not been far from racial commitments. At a training session in 2004, coach Luis Aragonés was photographed saying, "Show you are better than this black shit" in Spanish.
The problem is not just about players, coaches, or administrators, but with every person who is associated with the sport anyway – even as a spectator. A few years later, when Spain played against England in a friendly match, English-colored players (including Ashley Cole and Shaun Wright-Phillips) faced a hostile environment . Every time the ball was passed, the crowd would make monkey sounds and insult them.
Manchester City midfielder Fernandinho was targeted by fans after his own goal sent Brazil to the World Cup. The 33-year-old has received racist remarks on his social networks as well as death threats. The situation is so bad that Danny Rose had to ban his family from participating in the World Cup in Russia because he feared for his safety. The Tottenham player was bombarded with rocks and tormented with vile "hoot monkey" noises six years ago by representing the Under-21 camp.
Euro 2016, Serbian fans chanted: Ubij, ubij, Šiptara "or" Kill the Albanians ". They launched flares on the ground and attacked Albanian players, while the flames of nationalism were burning.
Ozil's statement Sunday, on three posts on Instagram and Twitter, was seized by the German right-wing party Alternative for Germany (AfD) also criticized central defender Jerome Boateng in the past. "With his tireless tirade #Ozil turns out to be a typical example of the failed integration of too many immigrants from the Turkish-Muslim culture," tweeted Alice Weidel, Vice President of AfD
Ozil at her hotel in Singapore. (Source: Reuters) At the age of 29, he is considered a victim of governance and the failure of fans to combat racism in football. What is scary is that the discrimination can not be based on the race or ethnicity of a footballer or the country of origin of his biological parents, but also on the perception of his actions or campaigns.
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