Germany FA apologises to Ozil for forcing him out of national team in 2018

The German FA chief Friedrich Curtis says the way the federation treated Mesut Ozil back in 2014 was unacceptable.

“The DFB made mistakes in dealing with the events surrounding the Ozil case,” he said as cited by Goal. “A photo became a magnifying glass for many topics.

“The moment there were racist allegations, we missed the time to meet with the player.”

The picture Curtis is talking about is a photograph of Ozil with Turkey president Recep Ergodan. The image caused a storm in the German media as Ozil was made a scapegoat for Germany’s failed 2018 World Cup.

The midfielder then decided to retire from the national team, accusing the German press of racism and hypocrisy.

During his 9-year career for the German national team, the Arsenal playmaker made 92 appearances and scored 23 goals.