Sania extends support to Ozil after ‘racism’ controversy

New Delhi:Mesut Ozil, who announced his international retirement after facing ‘racism and disrespect’ because of his Turkish roots, has found support from Indian tennis player Sania Mirza.
Ozil was heavily criticised after he, along with his teammate, Ilkay Gundogan, who has Turkish ancestry, posed for a photograph with Erdogan at a charitable event in May. However, Mirza, who herself is no stranger to controversies, extended her support to Ozil on social media.
“This is the saddest thing to read as a an athlete, and more importantly as a human being.. you are right bout one thing @MesutOzil1088 racism should not and will not be accepted under any circumstance.. sad if all this is true..,” she wrote on the social networking side on Monday.
He added he did not feel accepted in German society despite paying taxes there, making donations to German schools and being part of the team that won the World Cup.
“It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect,” he said.
“I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don’t,” he said. “I feel unwanted and think that what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten.”

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by The Kashmir Monitor staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)