Latest news with #Ozil
Express Tribune
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Express Tribune
Mesut Ozil joins Erdogan's AKP after retiring from football
Listen to article Former Germany, Real Madrid and Arsenal star Mesut Ozil, who retired in 2023, was elected on Sunday to the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) party of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the party announced. The German-born 2014 World Cup winner became a member of the AKP's central council at a congress in Ankara where Erdogan was re-elected for the ninth time as head of the conservative party which has ruled Turkey since 2002. Ozil, who ended his club career in Istanbul, is a longtime Erdogan supporter, having chosen him as his best man in 2019 for his wedding to a former Miss Turkey, Amine Glse. A photo of Ozil and Erdogan with former Germany teammate Ilkay Guendogan, also of Turkish origin, caused controversy, with Berlin accusing the Turkish head of state of repressive drift, while Ozil was criticised by the German far right. Ozil, previously held up as a symbol of a multicultural Germany, turned his back on the German national team, accusing the German Football Association of racism. After months of silence over a controversial photograph with Erdogan in 2018, Ozil erupted. The former Arsenal midfielder posted a stinging four-page statement taking aim at German Football Association (DFB) bosses, sponsors and the media. Ozil blamed the DFB management, in particular its president Reinhard Grindel, for failing to side with him against his critics. 'In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,' Ozil had written.
Middle East Eye
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Middle East Eye
Mesut Ozil, World Cup winner, enters Turkish politics with ruling party
Footballer Mesut Ozil, a World Cup winner with Germany, has entered Turkish politics by becoming a senior decision-maker in the country's ruling party. Ozil joined the Justice and Development Party's (AKP) central decision and executive committee at a congress in Ankara on Sunday, during which President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was re-elected as the head of the party for the ninth time. The German-Turkish footballer has had a close relationship with Erdogan for several years. In 2019, the president was best man at Ozil's wedding to former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse. During his illustrious football career, he played for Real Madrid, Arsenal and Fenerbahce, among other clubs, winning the Spanish La Liga title and four English FA Cup trophies. He played 92 times for the German national team, winning the World Cup in 2014, and winning German national team player of the year a record five times. New MEE newsletter: Jerusalem Dispatch Sign up to get the latest insights and analysis on Israel-Palestine, alongside Turkey Unpacked and other MEE newsletters However, his relationship with the national team soured following the 2018 World Cup, when Ozil retired from international football, alleging that the German media and the football association, DFB, had racially discriminated against him. "I am German when we win, an immigrant when we lose," he said at the time. The episode came a few weeks after Ozil and Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan, another German international of Turkish descent, were criticised in Germany after being pictured meeting with Erdogan. "My job is a football player and not a politician, and our meeting was not an endorsement of any policies," Ozil said at the time. "The treatment I have received from the DFB and many others makes me no longer want to wear the German national team shirt. I feel unwanted and think what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten." Since then, Ozil has made a number of interventions on political and human rights issues. He publicly condemned China's crackdown on Uyghur Muslims in December 2019, which angered Chinese authorities. Ozil's then-club Arsenal distanced itself from the condemnation. The following year, he commented on the conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan in the disputed Nagorno-Karabakh region, stating that the territory was "legally and internationally recognised as part of Azerbaijan, yet it is currently occupied illegally". He has also frequently spoken out in support of Palestinian rights and against Israeli abuses. Ozil is not the first footballer to join the AKP's ranks - former Aston Villa defender Alpay Ozalan has been a member of Turkey's parliament since 2018.
Sky News
24-02-2025
- Politics
- Sky News
Mesut Ozil: Former Arsenal and Real Madrid midfielder enters Turkish politics
Former Arsenal and Real Madrid footballer Mesut Ozil has transitioned into politics after joining Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan's party. The retired German midfielder, 36, was named on the ruling AK Party's (AKP) Central Decision and Management Board during a party congress on Sunday. Ozil, who is of Turkish descent, received criticism later in his career due to his relationship with Mr Erdogan. He retired from the German national team in 2018, five years before his wider retirement from the game, after a photo of him meeting the Turkish president in London caused uproar. Reinhard Grindel, who was the head of Germany's soccer federation at the time, accused the players of allowing themselves to be "exploited" by Mr Erdogan for political purposes. Some German politicians questioned Ozil's loyalty to Germany, suggesting he should be removed from the national squad ahead of the World Cup in 2018. In his post about retiring from international football, Ozil suggested his critics were being racist and that the "picture we took had no political intentions" and "was about me respecting the highest office of my family's country". Ozil got married to Amine Gulse in Istanbul the following summer, where Mr Erdogan was reportedly his best man. 1:33 Mr Erdogan has presided over Turkey for more than two decades - as prime minister since 2003 and president since 2014. His critics say he has turned Turkey into an autocracy and eroded people's rights, having introduced a new system in 2018 that abolished the office of the prime minister and concentrated most powers in the hands of the president. Ozil, who won the World Cup with Germany in 2014, left Arsenal for Turkish side Fenerbahce in 2021 before moving to Istanbul Basaksehir in 2022, where he retired a year later.
