Mesut Özil has quitted the national football team

Arsenal is happy about Mesut Özil’s comeback after the World Cup break. "It is great to have you back with us," the club has recently twitted. The 29-year-old had arrived with his team for an away match in Singapore then.

A day before, Özil had walked away from the German national football team after 92 international matches and the World Cup title won in 2014. Before the World Cup in Russia, he had been criticized for having been photographed with the Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and German national player Ilkay Gündogan in May in London. Furthermore, Özil had kept silent on this matter for two months. On the day of leaving the national team, he explained in the so-called social media that he had met Erdogan "out of respect for the highest authority of the country where my family comes from" without any political intention. "It did not matter for me who was the president, but the point was that it was the president". Mesut has "two hearts, one is German, the other is Turkish".

Özil accused the German media of racism. It turns out that he was criticized only for his background. Even his old school from Gelsenkirchen renounced him because of the affair, although he supported it financially. He would like no longer to be the "scapegoat" for DFB President Reinhard Grindel, who he reproached for "incompetence".

Özil’s rights continued being abused for his remarks. Bayern Munich President Uli Hoeneß commented to Bild: "I am glad that the spook has left us. He has been suspicious for years". Alice Weidel, AfD faction leader in the Bundestag, described Özil as "a typical example of failed integration", while Foreign Minister Heiko Maas (SPD) said that he did not believe "that the case of a multi-millionaire living and working in England tells us anything about integration into the German life style".

However, for Justice Minister Katarina Barley (SPD), it is "an alarm signal when a great German footballer like Mesut Özil feels that he is no longer respected in his country because of racism and is not supported by DFB". Angela Merkel’s government spokeswoman said: "The Chancellor appreciates Mesut Özil very much. Mesut Özil is a footballer who has done a lot for the national team".

Source: jungewelt