Monitoring Desk
ISLAMABAD: Football fans in Qatar, in a response to the German team’s earlier protest over the ban on “One Love” armbands, held pictures of the German team’s former player Mesut Ozil who became a victim of racism in Germany.
Spectators at the World Cup Group E football match between Spain and Germany on Sunday covered their mouths – in what was an imitation of the German team’s earlier gesture – while holding hand-drawn sketches of Ozil and pictures of him in action for his former team.
Ozil’s mistreatment in Germany
Ozil, who played a key role in Germany’s 2014 world cup win, quit the German national team four years later after becoming a target of racism and a scapegoat for Germany’s loss in the 2018 world cup. He accused the German FA of “racism and disrespect” and said, “I am German when I win and an immigrant when I lose.”
Ozil, who is of Turkish descent but grew up in Germany, faced severe criticism for meeting Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May 2018 which also became a reason for his retirement from international football with immediate effect.
Germany’s protest over LGTBQ rights in Qatar
The German team last week covered their mouths during a pre-game photo in a gesture of protest against FIFA’s disallowance of “One Love” armbands at the World Cup.
Team captains from the seven European nations competing in the World Cup — England, Wales, Germany, Denmark, Belgium, Switzerland, and the Netherlands — had announced to wear the armbands, which were meant to signal support for “diversity and inclusion”. However, the players backed off of their plans to do so, after FIFA warned of issuing a yellow card to any player wearing the armband.
