Germany midfielder Ilkay Gundogan has defended his international team-mate Mesut Ozil's decision to retire from Joachim Low's squad after receiving 'racism and disrespect' for his Turkish descent.
Despite playing for the German national team, both players have Turkish roots and were criticised before the World Cup for meeting with Turkish president Recep Erdogan.
The backlash was so fierce that Ozil decided that he could not continue to play for Germany, leaving Gundogan angry that the situation escalated as far as it did.
"Was the affair racially motivated? You're telling me! Is it not racism when a German politician writes on Facebook: 'The German national football team: 25 Germans and two goat fuckers?'," Gundogan told reporters.
'That's something you have to call racism. Nevertheless, that does not mean that all people in Germany are racists - not at all. Almost all my life I have had good experiences in Germany. I want to say that very clearly here. But there are people who have politically used the resulting photo for themselves. And in this context, the line to racism was partially crossed.
"In sporting terms, I think Mesut's resignation is a pity. He did a lot for German football. It's a loss for the team. Mesut has also done a lot for me personally. He was one of the reasons why I wanted to play for Germany. He has paved the way for me. So I would have wished that he would get a better, deserved goodbye. However, one has to say that it was Mesut's decision to go that way - with all the consequences. I would have done it differently - because I'm different."
Germany were eliminated at the group stage of the 2018 World Cup in Russia, losing to South Korea and Mexico in Group F.
