DFB praise Ozil and deny allegations of racism

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

Ozil, 29, won the World Cup with Germany four years ago, but was also in Joachim Low’s squad which exited at the group stage of the 2018 tournament in Russia.

In a lengthy statement posted on Twitter on Sunday, Ozil, a third-generation Turkish-german born in Gelsenkirchen, accused the German Football Association of treating him with “racism and disrespect”.

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

The picture led to criticism of Ozil in Germany. According to the player, only the intervention of head coach Low and team manager Oliver Bierhoff ensured he would then take part in Russia.

Ozil, who won 92 caps, revealed he and his family had received hate mail and threatening phone calls and been subjected to social media abuse.

In a statement the DFB yesterday paid tribute to the midfielder’s contribution, but also moved to reject any suggestions of racism. It 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.”

However, the DFB felt the photo of Ozil, which also included Manchester City’s Ilkay Gundogan, had “raised questions for many people in Germany” and that “it was important to us that he explained it”.

The DFB stressed it “would have been happy” if Ozil wanted to remain part of the national team set-up.