Turkish sports stars who have dared to criticise Erdogan, such as former international Hakan Sukur or NBA player Enes Kanter, have faced severe repercussions for themselves and their families, which could explain Ozil’s inability to distance himself from Erdogan.
I thought this was an interesting point, one I hadn’t considered and haven’t seen anyone touch on in this thread. I wonder if any of it comes down to a bit of fear for what would happen if he was seen to disrespect Erdogan.
If that was a concern I’m sure some people would see that as cowardice, that he should stand up for what is right. I’d like to think I’d be able to do that, but if I felt that my actions might jeopardise the safety or status of my family in the country where they live, I’m not sure if I’d feel that me standing up for my principles is brave or instead perhaps essentially selfish when I live abroad and won’t be hurt or face the consequences for my actions, but my family might.
I’m uneasy about the meeting with Erdogan, I don’t really buy the argument that he wasn’t in anyway legitimising him by meeting him and giving him a shirt with his name on, and I absolutely don’t buy this “I’m respecting the highest office of the country, not the person argument” - because personally I don’t respect the office inherently, I respect (or don’t) the person actually holding the office, and without any fears for my safety if I didn’t show respect, I wouldn’t meet someone who flagrantly disregards the core principles of democracy like that. @sevchenko this puts me in mind of our brief discussion about people respecting the office of Prime Minister.
@Gunnerpr you can feel how you want to but I do think there is a slight difference between just having a photo taken and having a photo taken in which you’re giving them a shirt with your name on it. When you do that it becomes much harder to act like you aren’t endorsing them in the slightest, much harder to act like you aren’t lending them the legitimacy of your name and fame when you are quite literally giving them a symbol that represents you and your fame.
I find the photo and shirt with Erdogan thing quite tough to get my head around tbh
They met in London in a hotel. IIRC the meeting was set up between both side’s representatives.
Initial media reaction isn’t going light on Özil and the focus seems to be a lot on how he didn’t distance himself from Erdogan and his politics. Most of the attention is on him more than on how he was treated, with Bild being by far the absolute worst of them all.
Wow. Seriously fuck Germany. They have really disrespected Ozil in all of this and shamed him. The abuse recieved by politicians is truly disgusting and has made Ozil’s position untanable.
They are so butt hurt after going out of the group stages it’s unreal. So glad he’s told them some home truths and to basically fuck off. Fuck them - arrogant nation.
The picture was so politically driven. I do feel like Ozil could have acknowlegded that. The picture of Gundogan, Tosun and Ozil was posted on 13 May on his instagram. Turkish elections were on 24 june. Whilst the racist remarks of goatfucker are crossing a line, the sentiments of which they come from regarding the picture are understandable in my opinion. Two weeks before the World Cup one of your stars is being used for political gain of Erdogan. I can see why that doesn’t fit well with people.
The issue was never about the photo. It was about Ozil’s opinion of Erdogan and his policies. And if there is one country that knows about where politics like that lead, it’s Germany.
Personally, if I knew that Ozil did support Erdogan, I wouldn’t want him playing for us either.
