On Germany-Spain match, protests in the tribunes with Mesut Özil photos

Spain and Germany faced off at the 2022 World Cup held in Qatar, a group of fans held up pictures of former player Mesut Özil during match on Sunday.

The clearly coordinated display was apparently in response to Germany players' gesture on Wednesday, when they covered their mouths to protest against FIFA following the governing body's clampdown on the "One Love" armband. That gesture was a response to FIFA's effective nixing of seven European teams' plans to wear armbands that were seen as a rebuke to host nation Qatar and its human rights record.

Qatari fans appeared Sunday to reference Germany's own questionable treatment of Özil, the former player who quit the national team after becoming a target of racist abuse and a scapegoat for Germany's early World Cup exit in 2018.

Özil, a German-born descendant of Turkish immigrants, accused the country's soccer federation, fans and media of racism in their treatment of people with Turkish roots.

"I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose," Özil said at the time.