Thursday 25 / April / 2024
Istanbul: Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was the best man at German footballer Mesut Ozil's wedding on Friday.
Ozil married former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse in a luxurious ceremony in Istanbul. Turkey's First Lady Emine Erdogan was also in attendance.
Ozil, who currently plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League, was born and raised in Germany but has Turkish roots.
Last year, an image of him and Erdogan together sparked controversy in Germany. Despite being one of Germany's most prolific players, the midfielder was accused of having divided loyalties by politicians and even condemned by his teammates for the photo op. He later retired after following a disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign, citing the racism he had been subjected to as being behind his decision.
Announcing his retirement, Ozil stated that "I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose. This is because despite paying taxes in Germany, donating facilities to German schools and winning the World Cup with Germany in 2014, I am still not accepted into society.
"My friend Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are never referred to as German-Polish, so why am I German-Turkish? Is it because t is Turkey? Is it because I'm a Muslim? I think here lays an important issue."
More controversy followed when Ozil posted an image of him breaking fast with the Turkish leader during the month of Ramadan.
