Mesut Ozil’s agent, Dr Erkut Sogut, has hit back at comments made by Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness following the Arsenal player’s international retirement on Sunday
Ozil confirmed in a lengthy statement that he had opted to make himself unavailable for selection for the German national team, citing treatment from the country’s FA (DFB) as reason for his decision and accusing its president, Reinhard Grindel, of “racism”.
Although born in the German city of Gelsenkirchen, the 29-year-old suggested criticism of his performances at the World Cup, which Germany exited at the group stage, are linked to his Turkish heritage.
“I am German when we win, but an immigrant when we lose,” he explained.
Following his decision to call time on his international career, Ozil has received further criticism for his performances from Hoeness.
“For me, Mesut Ozil has been a poor excuse of a footballer for years,” he told German publication Bild. “He should ask himself when he last won a tackle.”
In response to these comments, Dr Sogut expressed his disappointment at the German champions’ president, accusing him of trying to deflect away from the real issue by talking purely about football.
“The comments of Mr Hoeness miss the point completely, as they have absolutely nothing to do with football,” he told Goal.
“He is trying to divert attention away from the real issue, the issue of racism and discrimination in Germany, which is resurging once again within everyday German society.
“As Mesut said in his statement, he accepts reasonable and fair criticism of his football, and deals with that as part of the job. However, Mr Hoeness cannot even provide any actual evidence to back up his foolish statements that are clearly exaggerated.”
Dr Sogut follows this by listing Ozil’s statistics for his country, also mentioning that his client is a five-time recipient of Germany’s player of the year.
“Mesut created more chances in the 2018 World Cup per 90 minutes than any other player, but, of course, he singles him out for criticism,” he adds.
“As the president of Bayern Munich is it not best to focus on the performance of his own players seeing as eight of the Germany team play for the club?”
Adding that he knows nothing about the matter, Dr Sogut then uses the opportunity to mention the prison sentence Hoeness served for tax evasion between 2014 and 2016.
“Something he does know about though, is the 28.5 million euros in tax he evaded, when he was forced to resign from his role at Bayern Munich and sentenced to prison for his criminal behaviour…”
“Hoeness is no better than the people Mesut mentioned in his statement as he has purposefully ignored this wider point,” he continues. “Hoeness knows what he is doing. Issuing crazy comments about Mesut’s football, he thinks, will create a big reaction and will cover the real issue.
“The issue he and many in Germany are scared to confront, an issue he would prefer to sweep under the carpet because he can’t face the uncomfortable truth.
“He shows the depth of his character and his true personality by ignoring this and making idiotic comments about football.
“Well, I will not let him succeed. Mesut has given everything for Germany on and off the pitch – contributed more to the country than he could ever dream of.”
