Xinhua News Agency, Berlin, August 19, Greendale, chairman of the German Football Association, said in an interview with German media on the 19th, he should have given more support to the Turkish player who had announced his withdrawal from the national team when Ozil was attacked by racism.
“I should express a clearer attitude towards these racist attacks from the corner and help Ozil bear these more.” Greendale said, “These attacks are unacceptable, and I should have made a better statement about them.”
Germany performed badly in the World Cup in Russia and was eliminated in the group match. After that, 29-year-old Ozil announced to withdraw from the national team in July, because he felt that he had suffered too many racist attacks and disrespectful abuse, he seemed to be the “scapegoat” of the team “.
Ozil is the descendant of Turkish workers. On May this year, Ozil and Jing Duan, a national team mate of Turkish descent, took a photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip. At that time, before the Turkish presidential election, the group photo incident attracted criticism from German public opinion and football circles, which was considered as the platform for the election of erdoir.
Ozil later responded to the photo event. He explained in the statement that the behavior of taking photos was his respect for the president of his ancestral country. He believes that the German Football Association should be responsible for the racism and disrespect he feels. “When we win, I am Germans; When we lose, I become an immigrant.” He also announced his withdrawal from the German national team.
Greendale denied that he accused Ozil after the World Cup and regarded him as a “scapegoat. “I regret that he felt that the German Football Association hurt him, but I stressed that I had never commented on his performance after the World Cup. For me, whether we win or lose, we all face it as a team as a whole. It is absurd to let only one player be responsible for the exit.”
Greendale also said that the gate of the German national team was not closed to Ozil, but it required the board of the German Football Association and the German coach Loew to discuss the matter before reaching a conclusion. Grindle said that at present, Ozil and Loff have not directly communicated on this matter, and this is also very important to Loff.