Ozil drops bombshell, quits German team

[TheChamp]

Berlin - Mesut Ozil said on Sunday he was quitting the German national football team, citing "racism" in the criticism of him in the side's Soccer World Cup debacle.

"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 whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect," he tweeted.
Ozil, who has Turkish roots, had earlier defended his decision to pose for a controversial photograph with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May which sparked questions about his loyalty to Germany's squad ahead of the World Cup in Russia.

https://www.sport24.co.za/Soccer/WorldCup/ozil-drops-bombshell-quits-german-team-20180722

 

[thestaggy]

He may have been in a situation - meeting Erdogan - that he couldn't turn down;

Ozil added that the meeting was not meant as an endorsement of the policies of Erdogan, whose crackdown on political opponents, freedom of speech and the media have brought wide-scale rebuke from Western politicians, and that "not meeting with the President would have been disrespecting the roots of my ancestors."

Only Ozil himself will know whether his reasoning is entirely genuine. Turkish sports stars who have dared to criticise Erdogan, such as former international Hakan Sukur or NBA player Enes Kanter, have faced severe repercussions for themselves and their families, which could explain Ozil's inability to distance himself from Erdogan. Conversely, he might simply feel that Erdogan, who was recently re-elected, is, on balance, a good president for Turkey.

http://kwese.espn.com/football/club...ls-germany-exit-worse-than-any-world-cup-loss

Still a messy one though.

 

[akescpt]

should never be for non footballing reasons...