German treatment of Ozil racist: Turkey's Erdogan

ANKARA: Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday the treatment of Mesut Ozil after the soccer star quit Germany's national team was racist and unacceptable. He said he spoke to Ozil on Monday night and described his attitude as meriting the highest level of admiration, adding Ozil's critics "could not stomach" the photo of the soccer star and Erdogan that prompted criticism ahead of the World Cup.

"Such a racist treatment toward a young man who has given his all to the German national team for his religious beliefs is unacceptable," Erdogan told reporters in parliament. Authorities in Ozil's ancestral Turkish town have erected a new street sign showing the photo of him in May with Erdogan, replacing one picturing him wearing the international strip of Germany, the country of his birth.

Several prominent officials in Turkey, including the head of the Turkish Football Federation Yildirim Demiroren, have thrown their support behind Ozil since he announced on Sunday that he would not play again for Germany. "We condemn the treatment, threats and derogatory messages that he has received because of his heritage and background," Demiroren said.

The most prominent German politician of Turkish heritage, Cem Ozdemir, called on Monday for the resignation of German Football Association (DFB) head Reinhard Grindel, who Ozil said had blamed him for Germany's early departure from this year's World Cup in Russia. Ozil's decision to quit the national team due to the "racism and disrespect" he faced over his Turkish roots has triggered a bad-tempered public debate about the country's relations with its largest immigrant community.

The most prominent German politician of Turkish origin said it would be difficult for the head of the national soccer association to stay in the role, adding that Ozil's departure would only be welcomed by those who opposed diversity.

Ozil's announcement on social media late on Sunday led national newspapers to clear their front pages for the midfielder, 29, a key member of Germany's World Cup-winning side in 2014 - and also of the side eliminated at the group stage of the 2018 tournament in Russia.

The player, who came under fire for having his photograph taken with Turkey's authoritarian President Tayyip Erdogan in May, was especially piqued by criticism from German Football Association (DFB) head Reinhard Grindel, who he said blamed him for Germany crashing out of this year's tournament.

A spokesman for the DFB did not respond immediately when asked for a comment from Grindel. Cem Ozdemir, the former head of the Greens party and the most prominent politician of Turkish background, said it would be difficult for Grindel to do his job in future given the diverse reality of Germany and its soccer team. "It will be very hard for Grindel after this," he told Deutschlandfunk radio. "He doesn't reflect the breadth of football in Germany and so it will be hard for German Turks, or indeed German Croats, to feel that the DFB is theirs."

Gokay Sofuoglu, leader of the Turkish community in Germany, called for Grindel to resign, adding: "Diversity in the national team was a great showcase project that is now at risk of failing due to incompetent leaders." Former DFB President Theo Zwanziger was quoted in German media as saying the DFB had not done enough to solve conflicts ahead of the World Cup.

"Communication mistakes mean something happened that should never happen to migrants: They should never feel like second-class Germans," he said.