July 27 – German Football Association (DFB) chief Reinhard Grindel has broken his silence over the Mezut Ozil affair by admitting he should have taken a stronger stance in support of the midfielder who last weekend announced his retirement from international football on racism grounds.
Ozil quit the national team citing “racism and disrespect” over his Turkish roots after having his photograph taken with Turkey’s authoritarian President Tayyip Erdogan in May.
Both Ozil and teammate Ilkay Gundogan, also of Turkish descent who also posed with Erdogan, were jeered by German fans in warm-up games before the World Cup in Russia.
Ozil accused Grindel of blaming him for Germany’s group stage elimination, their earliest exit from the tournament in 80 years, and considered him a German when the national team won but an immigrant when the side lost
Grindel rejected Ozil’s accusations that the DFB had been racist but said he regretted the photograph with Erdogan had been misused to justify “racist words”.
“In retrospect, as president I should have clearly said what is obvious for me personally and for us as an association, namely that any form of racism is unbearable, unacceptable and intolerable,” he said in a statement.
Grindel said the personal criticism had affected him.
“I feel even more sorry for my colleagues, the many volunteers and staff at the DFB caught up (in accusations of) racism,” he said. “I decisively reject this – both for me personally and for the association.”
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