Özil's Turkish hometown switches street sign after he quits German team
The sign of "Mesut Özil Avenue" located in the Black Sea town of Devrek - the original home of Özil's family - was replaced with a new picture of a smiling Özil and Erdoğan side by side, holding up the team shirt of his English club Arsenal, set off a row in Germany when the photo was snapped in May.
- Türkiye
- Reuters
- Published Date: 12:00 | 24 July 2018
- Modified Date: 03:27 | 24 July 2018
Authorities in the ancestral Turkish town of soccer star Mesut Özil have erected a new street sign showing him posing with President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan after the player quit the German team, saying he faced "racism and disrespect" for his Turkish roots.
The sign marking "Mesut Özil Avenue", named in honour of the player, replaces one picturing him wearing the international strip of Germany, the country of his birth.
The picture of a smiling Özil and Erdoğan side by side, holding up the team shirt of his English club Arsenal, set off a row in Germany when the photo was snapped in May.
Erdoğan, who was campaigning for re-election when the photo was taken, has drawn criticism in Germany for a crackdown following a coup attempt in 2016, with the president responding in kind.
Mustafa Semerci, the mayor of the Black Sea town of Devrek - the original home of Özil's family - said he had changed the sign after "we watched with sadness what was done to Özil", according to Turkish news agency DHA.
Özil, 29, a key member of Germany's World Cup-winning team in 2014, was also photographed with Erdoğan along with İlkay Gündoğan, a team mate likewise of Turkish descent.
Özil's announcement that he would no longer play for Germany came amid a political debate about an influx of 1.6 million migrants in the past four years that has fuelled a far-right resurgence and weakened support for traditional parties.