‘Ozil’s racism claims in German camp are nonsense’

BERLIN: Germany midfielder Toni Kroos says Mesut Ozil was “out of order” to make accusations of racism within the German set up as he retired from international football last month.

“Basically Mesut is a long-serving national team player and deserved a better exit as a footballer,” Kroos, 28, told German daily Bild. “I have played with Mesut for many years and know that he is a nice guy. But the way he retired was out of order. “The proportion of his statement which was fair and justified was unfortunately overshadowed by a much higher proportion of nonsense.

“I think he himself knows that racism does not exist within the national team and the DFB. “On the contrary, we are always committed to diversity and integration. “Mesut was a good example of that, like many of our team mates.”

Ozil, 29, created a furore last month when he retired from international football in an explosive three-part statement in which he accused German FA (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel of racism.

“In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,” wrote Ozil, sparking a racism storm in Germany and triggering fierce debate about integration. Ozil fell foul of German fans and was booed during pre-World Cup friendlies after he and fellow midfielder Ilkay Gundogan posed for pictures with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May, raising questions about pair’s loyalty to Germany.

Only a handful of Germany players have spoken about saga, which captain Manuel Neuer described as “stressful” while Thomas Mueller said there is “no question of racism within team”.