Arsenal right-back Hector Bellerin has jumped to the defence of teammate Mesut Ozil after the playmaker retired indefinitely from international football.
Ozil, 29, called time on his career with the German national side after accusing DFB officials of racism; posting a series of statements on his Twitter account, responding to the widespread criticism he faced for meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The midfielder, who is of Turkish descent, suffered a huge backlash over a picture taken with Erdogan, which prompted the president of the German Football Association (DFB), Reinhard Grindel, to question Ozil’s motives.
The meeting has shrouded Germany’s calamitous World Cup campaign which saw them exit the group stages, with Ozil again coming under fire for his role in the failure.
In his posts, Ozil stated that he “will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect,” which has since garnered the respect of Bellerin.
The Spaniard was in awe of his teammate for standing up for his beliefs, while offering support on his Twitter account:
“Surreal that someone who has done so much for his country on and off the pitch has been treated with such disrespect.
“Well done Mesut Ozil for standing up to this behaviour!”
Ozil is a third-generation Turkish-German, and was born in Gelsenkirchen in western Germany, coming through the ranks at Schalke 04 before transferring to Werder Bremen in 2008.
The former Real Madrid playmaker was integral to the nation’s 2014 World Cup victory, and has amassed 92 caps for the national side while scoring 23 goals.
He also played a key role in the nation’s third-place finish during the 2010 World Cup, and has been voted the national team’s Player of the Year on five occasions since 2011 by fans.
The post Hector Bellerin shows support to Arsenal teammate Mesut Ozil appeared first on Squawka News.
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