Ozil, Gundogan bid to defuse photo row
BERLIN: Two German internationals of Turkish heritage met Germany’s head of state and soccer bosses on Saturday, in a bid to defuse a political row after they were pictured with Turkey’s president.
The photos, taken in London on Sunday and published by the ruling AK Party, show Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan beaming next to Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan, and giving him shirts from their English clubs Arsenal and Manchester City.
Gundogan’s shirt had “With respect for my president” written on it. He later said it was not the intention of the two players, who have Turkish roots, to make a political statement or be drawn into campaigning for Turkey’s elections next month.
The photos unleashed a storm of criticism from Germany’s political spectrum and the DFB football federation, all of whom argued Erdogan does not sufficiently respect German values.
FLAMENGO SUSPEND DISGRACED GUERRERO
RIODEJANEIRO: Rio de Janeiro football giants Flamengo on Friday suspended the contract of Peru captain Paolo Guerrero following a doping scandal that has ruled him out of the World Cup.
“We confirm the athlete is suspended,” a spokesman for the club told AFP. Guerrero’s future will be determined by the club once it has studied legal arguments made by the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), which earlier this week extended Guerrero’s ban from six to 14 months.
SIX INJURED IN JUVE TITLE PARADE
TURIN: Six Juventus fans were injured, two seriously, when a truck they were travelling in during the Italian champions’ victory parade struck the electric cables of the city’s tramway, according the media reports.
The team were celebrating winning their seventh straight Serie A title and fourth Italian Cup in a row with an open top bus parade through the streets of Turin on Saturday night.
I’M A SERIAL WINNER, SAYS CONTE
LONDON: Chelsea coach Antonio Conte declared himself “a serial winner” after leading his side to a 1-0 victory over Manchester United in the FA Cup final on Saturday and said it was up to the club to decide whether to fire him.
“I am the first to accept every decision for the future. Because after these two seasons I will always love this colour, these fans, this club. And also if my future must be in a different way,” Conte told reporters.
“I think that after two years, the club knows me very well. If they want to continue to work with me, they know me. I can’t change,” he said.