Mesut Ozil Retires From International Football, German World Cup Winner Cites 'Disrespect' and 'Racism' in Four-Page Retirement Letter
The Germany team were knocked out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after they finished last in Group F. Ozil signed off by saying, racism should never, ever be accepted.
Mesut Ozil, a German football player, announced his retirement from the national (Germany) football team, on Sunday. The 29-year-old footballer hung his boots on his international career and cited ‘disrespect and racism’ as the reasons for his unprecedented retirement. In a four-page letter on his Twitter account, Ozil said, “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 while I have this feeling of racism and disrespect.”
The premature retirement comes in the backdrop of his recent meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ozil has alleged that his picture with the Turkish President, photographed in May, was being highly criticised by the German lawmakers, media and fans alike. The criticism had gone to an extent where the people (mentioned in his four-page letter) questioned his loyalty to play for the national football team.
Read Mesut Ozil's Retirement Letter, Page 1:
The German footballer recalled a recent incident where he was called a ‘goat-f*ker’ by Bernd Holzhauer, a German politician, only because he was pictured with President Erodgan and which was only about mocking Ozil’s Turkish background. There was a controversy during the recently concluded World Cup in Russia too, wherein a fan said, “Ozil, f**k off you Turkish s*t, piss off you Turkish pig.”
Read Mesut Ozil's Retirement Letter, Page 2:
It is well known that Mesut Ozil was born and brought up in Germany, but his ancestral roots lie in Turkey. It was his Turkish background which was being used as a propaganda and accuse him. However, Ozil thanked German football team manager Joachim Low for the support and that he stood behind him during crunch situations.
Read Mesut Ozil's Retirement Letter, Page 3:
The Germany team were knocked out of the 2018 FIFA World Cup after they finished last in Group F. Ozil signed off by saying, racism should never, ever be accepted.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 23, 2018 09:32 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).