DFB chief Grindel regrets leaving Mesut Ozil to face racist attacks

The president of Germany’s football federation wishes he had given Mesut Ozil more support against racist attacks following the controversy over the player’s photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

DFB president Reinhard Grindel, who previously conceded making mistakes in handling the controversy, told Sunday tabloid Bild am Sonntag that he had not sought to make Ozil the scapegoat for Germany’s disappointing first-round exit from the World Cup.