Mesut Ozil’s decision to say goodbye to the Germany football team has caused quite a flutter. The player’s announcement on social media, arguably the strongest by a sportsperson in recent years on the subject of racism, has drawn sharp and mixed reactions. His move came at a time when there has been a massive political debate in Germany about an influx of 1.6 million migrants since mid-2014 and the rise of the far right at the expense of traditional parties. Let’s take a further look at what led to his decision.

The whole saga dates back to May 13 when the creative midfielder faced a barrage of criticism at home for having his photograph taken with Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan. He and Ilkay Gundogan, a teammate also of Turkish descent who posed with Erdogan as well, were jeered by German fans in warmup games before the World Cup in Russia. 

Erdogan’s party used the photos on the social media in order to seek more support in the election. Many fans and politicians in Germany were angered by the photo with Erdogan and it was widely criticized by politicians and Germany’s football federation, which argued that Erdogan did not sufficiently respect German values.

Ozil defended the photograph in which he was pictured beaming with Erdogan, who was campaigning for re-election at the time. Ozil said, “For me having a picture with President Erdogan wasn’t about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country.” 

Germany failed to qualify from the group stage at the World Cup, making their earliest exit from the tournament in 80 years and Ozil was one of the scapegoats for their unsuccessful title defense.

However, the fans, who went after Ozil for the collective failure of the German team, forgot the great contributions he made in the 2014 World Cup-winning run.

Ozil made his debut for the senior side during a friendly match against Norway on February 11, 2009, and scored his first goal for the senior team in his third appearance, another friendly game against South Africa on September 5 in Leverkusen. He has been voted by fans as the team’s Player of the Year five times since 2011. Also, as a key member of 2014 World Cup, Ozil scored a decisive goal during Germany's 2–1 round of 16 victory over Algeria, then he provided an assist for Sami Khedira in Germany’s 7–1 semi-final win over Brazil. During the decade Ozil played for the national team, he scored 23 goals in 92 appearances. It’s sad that the German midfield maestro’s immense contribution to his country’s slew of triumphs has been overpowered by what he views as hatred and racism.

(With agency input)