Mesut Ozil controversially retired from international duty back in 2018, citing racism and disrespect as his reasoning for his decision.
The midfielder clocked up 92 appearances for Germany between 2009 and 2018, but refused to continue playing for the side after he was the subject of allegations.
Ozil was questioned after he met with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of the 2018 World Cup, and he was eventually scapegoated for his nation’s performance in the tournament, and the player made his decision to call it time shortly after with a long Twitter post.
He shared: “It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect.
“I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement but now I don’t. This decision has been extremely difficult to make because I have always given everything for my team-mates, the coaching staff and the good people of Germany.
“But when high-ranking DFB officials treat me as they did, disrespect my Turkish roots and selfishly turn me into political propaganda, then enough is enough. That is not why I play football, and I will not sit back and do nothing about it. Racism should never, ever be accepted.”
DFB general secretary Friedrich Curtis has now admitted that his federation made errors during the case, telling the Deutschland-Stiftung Integration (via Goal):“The DFB made mistakes in dealing with the events surrounding the Ozil case.
“A photo became a burning glass for many topics.
“The moment there were racist allegations, we missed the time to meet with the player.”
The player has been frozen out in North London of late, not featuring since the Coronavirus pandemic hit in March, but the team has been finding serious form in his absence.
The manager claims the decision not to play him is down to footballing matters, but you can’t help but believe otherwise, with the Independent claiming that he refused a wage cut during the pandemic.
Will the German leave Arsenal with such controversy? Or could he actually find himself returning to action before he leaves next summer?
Patrick