Germany football association (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel rejected allegations of racism but admitted mistakes in the handling of Mesut Ozil’s national team status, saying he has been stung by the criticism following the midfielder’s retirement from international competition.
Ozil announced his withdrawal from the national team on Sunday, citing what he believed was racist treatment by the DFB regarding his Turkish heritage and accusing Grindel of failing to support him throughout Germany’s participation in the World Cup.
But Grindel, in a statement released by the DFB on Thursday, expressed regret that the photo Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan took with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London in May had been used to further racist purposes.
The past couple of weeks have given me time to reflect, and time to think over the events of the last few months. Consequently, I want to share my thoughts and feelings about what has happened. pic.twitter.com/WpWrlHxx74
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 22, 2018
“I won’t pretend that this personal criticism hasn’t affected me, but I feel even more sorry for my colleagues, the many volunteers at grassroots level and the staff at the DFB, who have been linked with racism,” Grindel said. “It’s something I firmly reject for both the association and myself personally.
II / III pic.twitter.com/Jwqv76jkmd
— Mesut Özil (@MesutOzil1088) July 22, 2018
“The DFB’s values are also my own; diversity, solidarity, anti-discrimination and integration are all values and beliefs that are close to my heart,” Grindel said. “… Looking back, as president, I should been unequivocally clear about something that is a given for me as a person and for us all as an association: Any form of racial hostility will not be accepted or tolerated under any circumstances. That was the case for Jerome Boateng, that is the case for Mesut Ozil, and it is the same for any player at grassroots level [who] has a migrant background.”
Grindel said that after consulting with DFB officials, he wants to use the incident as a way to learn how to better connect with people from different backgrounds to improve the Germany national team and make the federation’s bid to host Euro 2024 successful.
“We need to use this ongoing debate about integration and how it currently resonates in society as an opportunity to further develop our work in this field and to ask ourselves where and how we can add fresh impetus,” Grindel wrote. ” … [Hosting] the tournament can write a whole new story for football, bringing children into clubs and bringing people closer together, both with and without migrant backgrounds — united by football.”
Turkey president Recep Tayyip Erdogan has also come out to condemn treatment of Mesut Ozil by the Germany football federation on Tuesday terming it as “unacceptable”
Ozil, 29, withdrew from international football on Sunday, saying that “racism and disrespect” over his Turkish heritage directed towards himself and his family were major factors behind his decision.
“Such racist treatment towards a young man who has given his all to the German national team for his religious beliefs is unacceptable,” Erdogan told reporters in parliament.
“Furthermore, how do you explain being unable to tolerate Mesut, Ilkay [Gundogan] and Cenk Tosun taking a photograph in London out of respect of their Turkish roots?
“There are some that could not stomach this, but there are established, responsible politicians who are standing with Mesut.”