Footballer shot at in drive-by attack blames Turkish spooks

A PROFESSIONAL footballer claimed yesterday that he was shot at by Turkish intelligence in an assassination attempt linked to his criticism of the regime of Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Deniz Naki, a Kurdish-german former midfielder for FC St Pauli, a second division side from Hamburg, escaped injury when his car came under fire in a drive-by shooting on the autobahn in Germany on Sunday.

Showing reporters two bullet holes in the window and near the wheel of his car, Mr Naki said that his political stance may have led to the shooting by Turkish intelligence or government supporters.

A German citizen of Kurdish descent, Mr Naki has been a vocal critic of the Turkish government. He has repeatedly clashed with Turkish authorities since moving to the country to play for Amedspor, a second-division side in the Kurdish city of Diyarbakir.

Last year, he was found guilty of promoting the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and handed a suspended jail sentence by a Turkish court.

German police confirmed the highly unusual shooting incident and said an investigation had been opened, but there were currently no leads as to who was responsible.

Mr Naki, who had an unsuccessful trial for Nottingham Forest before moving to St Pauli in 2012, yesterday said in Die Welt newspaper: “I was on the way back from Aachen, where I had been visiting a friend. I was in the slow lane when I suddenly heard gunshots.

“On my left, behind me, was a black estate car. The gunshots came from it. I immediately pulled off on to the hard shoulder and called the police.

“I could have died. I always knew something like this could happen. But I would never have expected it to happen in Germany.”

“I believe it was MIT,” he added, referring to the Turkish intelligence agency. “Or someone who doesn’t approve of my political stance.” Drive-by shootings are very rare in Germany.