Mesut Ozil retires from Germany – The key points

Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil has quit the German national team after accusing DFB President Richard Grindel and others of racism. Here are the key points from his statement.

Mesut Ozil has quit the German national team. It is a bombshell decision that comes with a lengthy statement discussing the recent months and the controversy that they hosted that led to the split between him and the country that he had flourished for as one their greatest ever players.

Ozil released a statement on his social media channels on Sunday. I would recommend everyone read it.

In it, he discusses his and Ilkay Gundogan’s decision to take a photo with oft-criticised and highly controversial Turkish President, Recep Tayipp Erdogan, the backlash that he received from fans and the DFB alike as a result, and his subsequent decision to retire from international football as a result.

The most potent part of the statement comes in his discussion of DFB President Richard Grindel, who Ozil openly accuses of racism:

"“Arguably the issue that has frustrated me the most over the past couple of months has been the mistreatment from the DFB, and in particular the DFB President Richard Grindel. Whilst I attempted to explain to Grindel my heritage, ancestry and therefore reasoning behind the photo, he was far more interested in speaking about his own political views and belittling my opinion. I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his [Grindel’s] incompetence and inability to do his job properly.”"

Grindel is a renowned conservative politician whose views have verged on being racist in the past. As Ozil points out in his statement, he voted against dual-citizenship and has said that ‘Islamic culture has become too ingrained in many German cities.’ For Ozil, as a Muslim, there is a clear friction with Grindel.

He also discusses many of the insults that he and his family have suffered during his time playing for the national team, especially during these more tempestuous recent months. Ranging from ‘goat-f*cker’, which was said by German politician Bernd Holzhauer, to ‘Ozil, f*ck off you Turkish sh*t, piss of you Turkish p*g’ from a German fan.

Perhaps the most important point comes at the end when he officially announces his retirement:

"“It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect.”"

The fact that anyone in the modern world feels that they must retire from their profession because of a ‘feeling of racism and disrespect’ is utterly unacceptable. I am sure we can all agree on that much.

Ozil did not pull any punches in his statement. He was honest, frank, candid and open about his feelings regarding the treatment he has received from fans and professional members of the DFB, the German political ranks, and other high-ranking members of German society. And the very fact that he felt that that was necessary is very sad indeed.

I will give the last word to two Germans. As Rapha Honigstein brilliantly writes, Ozil has retired from the team that plays in black and white because of racism; as Mesut Ozil writes, ‘I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose.’