Ozil’s claims of racism denied by German FA

The German Football Association has expressed regret over Mesut Ozil’s decision to retire from international football, but denied any allegations of racism towards the Arsenal midfielder.

Ozil, 29, won the World Cup with Germany four years ago, but was also part of Joachim Low’s squad which failed to progress from the group stages of the 2018 tournament in Russia.

In a statement posted on Twitter, Ozil – a third-generation Turkish-German who was born in Gelsenkirchen – accused the German FA of treating him with “racism and disrespect”.

He claimed German FA (DFB) chiefs wanted him “out of the team” before the World Cup, due to a photograph featuring him with Turkey’s president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The picture led to criticism of Ozil in Germany and the player, who won 92 caps for Germany, also revealed he and his family had received hate mail and threatening phone calls and been subjected to social media abuse.

In an extensive statement of its own yesterday, coming after the DFB had spoken to Ozil, the governing body paid tribute to the midfielder’s contribution, but also moved to reject any suggestions of racism.

The DFB said Ozil had made a “decisive contribution” to the 2014 World Cup triumph and praised his “outstanding performance in the jersey of the German national teams”.

The governing body, though, stressed its integration work was “of central importance at all levels”. It said: “We play and live together with our different family roots, our religions and cultures.”