Mesut Ozil quits German national football team

Dual heritage

Many European footballers who play for national teams have a heritage in a different country but it is extremely rare for such players to cite racism resulting from those roots as a reason to abandon their national side.

There is also a debate about whether enough is done to stamp out racism in the sport, which many black players have faced over the decades often in the form of chants by opposing fans.

Ozil questioned whether there were criteria for being German that he did not meet and asked why he should be referred to as German-Turkish when fellow German soccer players Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose were not referred to as German-Polish.

"Is it because it is Turkey? Is it because I'm a Muslim? I think here lays an important issue," he said.

Germany's Social Democrat Justice Minister Katarina Barley said on Twitter: "It's alarming if a great German football player like Mesut Ozil no longer feels wanted in his country and doesn't feel represented by the DFB due to racism."

Veteran Greens lawmaker Cem Ozdemir, who has Turkish roots, said Ozil's photo was wrong and his explanation unconvincing but added: "The way the DFB leadership acted is at least as disastrous – Grindel is hacking our history of integration to pieces. Do they want young German-Turks to start playing for Erdogan soon? The DFB needs a fresh start."

But others criticised Ozil, with Thomas Bareiss, a senior member of Chancellor Angela Merkel's conservatives, saying Ozil's accusations of racism and a lack of respect were "out of place."

Popular German newspaper Bild said: "Ozil is reveling in the victim role that has nothing to do with reality." Ozil has 92 caps for Germany and has scored 23 goals.

Earlier on Sunday, Ozil defended the photograph in which he was pictured smiling with Erdogan, who was campaigning for re-election at the time.

"For me having a picture with President Erdogan wasn't about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family's country," he said.

'Two hearts. One German, one Turkish'

Relations between Germany and Turkey have soured amid a crackdown by Erdogan's government on suspected supporters of a failed military coup in July 2016. Germany is home to some 3 million people with Turkish roots.

Germany and Turkey are both bidding to host the Euro 2024 tournament and UEFA will hold a meeting on Sept. 27 to choose between them.

Ozil said his mother had always told him to be respectful and remember his ancestry, heritage and family traditions, adding: "I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish."

Many fans and politicians in Germany were angered by the photo with Erdogan and it was widely criticized by politicians and Germany's football federation, which argued that Erdogan did not sufficiently respect German values.