Özil stands behind Erdogan's photo and attacks DFB

National soccer player Mesut Özil has publicly commented on the Erdogan affair for the first time and has clearly acknowledged the photo with the Turkish President. Regardless of elections in Turkey, he would have “taken the picture anyway,” Özil wrote in a post on his social media profiles on Sunday. He did not comment on his future in the DFB team.

For him, the photo in May was about "respecting the highest representative of my family's country." He agreed to take the picture with Recep Tayyip Erdogan out of respect for his presidential office - regardless of the person. The Queen and English Prime Minister Theresa May acted similarly when they met with Erdogan. As at previous meetings, they only talked about football, "because he was a player himself in his youth."

Özil and Erdogan met for the first time in 2010 after he watched the game between Germany and Turkey in Berlin with Angela Merkel. Since then, our paths have crossed several times. I am aware that our photo is for a big one "It caused a response in the German media. Some accused me of lying or being deceitful. But the picture we took had no political intentions," Özil explained.

The 29-year-old also referred to his roots. "I have two hearts, one is German, the other Turkish," he wrote. His mother always taught him to show respect and never forget "where I come from." If he had refused to meet Erdogan, he would have denied his roots, said Özil.

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Özil stands behind Erdogan's photo and attacks DFB

National soccer player Mesut Özil has publicly commented on the Erdogan affair for the first time and acknowledged the photo with the Turkish President.

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