The DFB (The German Football Federation) has criticised German internationals Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan for posing in photos with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Mr Erdogan received signed shirts from the two German-born players, both of Turkish origin. The presentation took place at an event in London on Sunday, which saw the two Premier League stars join up with Cenk Tosun, Everton’s new Turkish forward.
Twitter: RT @ESPNFC: Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan are in trouble with German officials after meeting with Turkey’s controversial president: https:/… (@Mr_Eto)
The World Cup begins next month in Russia, and both Germans will likely start for the defending champions. Many German politicians have also criticised the footballers, questioning their loyalty to German democratic values.
The BBC have reported DFB president Reinhard Grindel saying:
Football and the DFB defend values which are not sufficiently respected by Mr Erdogan.
That’s why it’s not good that our international players let themselves be manipulated for his electoral campaign. In doing that, our players have certainly not helped the DFB’s work on integration.
DFB director Oliver Bierhoff said:
Neither one of them was aware of the symbolic value of this photo, but it’s clearly not right and we’ll be talking to them about it.
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