Mesut Özil defends Erdogan photo, announces retirement from international football
ERBIL (Kurdistan 24) – Two months after taking a controversial photo with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish-German footballer Mesut Özil says the decision to pose for the picture was not politically-motivated. He later announced his retirement from international football.
In a statement on his official Twitter account, Özil expressed his disappointment with the German media which he claims “have portrayed something different.”
“I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish,” the footballer wrote. “During my childhood, my mother taught me to always be respectful and to never forget where I came from, and these are still values that I think about to this day.”
Özil added that “not meeting with the President would have been disrespecting the roots of my ancestors” who he said would be “proud” of him today.
“For me, it didn’t matter who was President, it mattered that it was the President.”
In May, Özil and fellow Turkish-German footballer Ilkay Gündoğan posed for a photo with Erdogan during the Turkish leader’s visit to London in the United Kingdom where he met with Prime Minister Theresa May.
The German Football Association (DFB) criticized the players, claiming they had been “manipulated” for Erdogan’s elections campaign ahead of snap polls on June 24.
The two footballers met with German President Frank Walter Steinmeier a few days later to quell the controversy around the photos and “clear up the misunderstandings.”
The past couple of weeks have given me time to reflect, and time to think over the events of the last few months. Consequently, I want to share my thoughts and feelings about what has happened. pic.twitter.com/WpWrlHxx74
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 22, 2018
In a separate statement, also posted to his Twitter, Özil said the German media unfairly blamed Germany’s poor performance at the 2018 World Cup in Russia on the photo row.
2014 champions Germany suffered a shock exit at the group stage of this summer’s tournament, finishing bottom of their group for the first time in history.
Özil played 180 minutes during the tournament as Germany lost both the games where he started.
“What I can’t accept are German media outlets repeatedly blaming my dual-heritage and a simple picture for a bad World Cup on behalf of an entire squad,” the footballer wrote.
He also announced his retirement from the German national team with immediate effect, citing “racism” and “disrespect.”
“It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level,” Özil said.
Relations between Berlin and Ankara remain strained due to German refuge to dissident Turks and Kurds as well as accusations of “Nazism and support for terrorists” leveled against Germany by Erdogan.