Soccer star Mesut Özil
Footballer Mesut Ozil announced Sunday his retirement from Germany’s national team, citing "racism and disrespect".
Germany’s star player, who has Turkish origins, has been criticized by German politicians and media outlets after he met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May, ahead of elections in Turkey.
In a series of tweets on Sunday, Ozil defended his meeting with Erdogan during a charitable event in London, saying a picture with the Turkish president was not about politics or elections.
German soccer player Mesut Özil's decision to quit the national team due to "racism and disrespect" he faced over his Turkish roots has rattled Germany and threw a spotlight on the country's stance toward migrants. Özil's announcement came late on Sunday via social media. The player, who came under fire for having his photograph taken with Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in May, was especially piqued by criticism from German Football Association (DFB) head Reinhard Grindel, who he said blamed him for Germany crashing out of this year's tournament.
Mesut Özil slams Germany for ‘racism and disrespect’, quits national team
“Whatever the outcome would’ve been in this previous election, or the election before that, I would have still taken the picture,” he added.
The 29-year-old star strongly criticized German media outlets for questioning his loyalty to Germany, and accusing him, alone, for the failure of national team at the 2018 World Cup in Russia.
“I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose,” he said.
Mesut Özil, a football player for Germany of Turkish descent, has broken his silence and formally responded to the media after he was accused of making a political statement by photographing with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan before the country’s elections, which were held on June 24.Posting a statement on his Instagram account on Sunday, Özil wrote, “Like many people, my ancestry traces back to more than one country. Whilst I grew up in Germany, my family background has its roots firmly based in Turkey. I have two hearts, one German and one Turkish. During my childhood, my mother taught me to always be respectful and to never forget where I came from, and these are still values that I think about to this day.”“As I said, my mother has never let me lose sight of my ancestry, heritage and family traditions. For me, having a picture with President Erdoğan wasn’t about politics or elections, it was about me respecting the highest office of my family’s country.” The past couple of weeks have given me time to reflect, and time to think over the events of the last few months. Consequently, I want to share my thoughts and feelings about what has happened. Mesut Özil (@m10_official)'in paylaştığı bir gönderi (22 Tem, 2018, 3:57öö PDT) German players with Turkish roots, İlkay Gündoğan and Mesut Özil, met with Erdoğan while he was in London in mid-May. The duo gifted their autographed jerseys to Erdogan.“Whatever the outcome would’ve been in this previous election, or the election before that, I would have still taken the picture,” he concluded.Erdoğan won an absolute majority in the presidential election with 52.5 percent of the vote, according to Turkey’s Supreme Election Council (YSK). Gecenin fotoğrafı. Yeni Şafak Spor (@yenisafakspor)'in paylaştığı bir gönderi (13 May, 2018, 3:40ös PDT) 
I would still have photographed with Erdoğan, says footballer Mesut Özil
Ozil expressed his disappointment for still facing discrimination and racism even though he was born and educated in Germany.
“My friend Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are never referred to as German-Polish, so why am I German-Turkish? Is this because it is Turkey? Is it because I'm a Muslim?” he asked.
Ozil also slammed German Football Association President (DFB) Reinhard Grindel for mistreatment and pursuing a political agenda, soon after he was criticized by politicians and media for meeting with Turkish president Erdogan.
‘I used to wear the German shirt with such pride, but now I don’t,’ he said, adding that it has been an "extremely difficult" decision for him.
“But when high-ranking DFP officials treat me as they did, disrespect my Turkish roots and selfishly turn me into political propaganda, then enough is enough,” he said.
“Racism should never, ever be accepted,” he stressed.