After criticizing the DFB in a statement on Sunday, Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil announced he was retiring from international football.
German star Mesut Ozil confirmed his retirement from international football with immediate effect in an astonishing attack on German Football Federation (DFB) President Reinhard Grindel.
Ozil was criticized by the DFB after meeting with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the World Cup.
The star of Arsenal, of Turkish origin, said Sunday that his meeting with the controversial figure Erdogan "had no political intentions."
In the second part of a three-part statement, Ozil denounced the management of the incident by the DFB, suggesting that the Erdogan meeting was unfairly cited as a factor in Germany's exit in the group stage in Russia 2018.
Ozil's long letter also made inflammatory accusations against German politicians and a few fans as he explained how he felt his Turkish roots had been handled irresponsibly, a treatment he considered "racism". ".
And in the last part of the statement later on Sunday, Ozil confirmed that he will no longer be available for selection by German coach Joachim Low, accusing Grindel of being "condescending" and "incompetent", and accusing him of denigrate the opinion of the midfielder.
In the last part of his announcement, the 29-year-old wrote: "It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that due to recent events, I will not play for Germany at the international level anymore. I have this feeling of disrespect.
"Probably the most frustrating problem in the last two months has been the ill-treatment inflicted by the DFB, and in particular by President Reinhard Grindel.
"After my photo with President Erdogan, Joachim Low asked me to shorten my holidays and go to Berlin and make a joint statement to end all the discussions and set the record straight.
"While I was trying to explain to Grindel my heritage, my ancestry, and therefore the reasoning behind the photo, he was much more interested in talking about his own political views and belittling my opinion.
While his actions were condescending, we agreed that the best thing to do was to focus on football and the next World Cup, which is why I did not attend the DFB's media day.
"I knew that journalists were discussing politics and not football was attacking me, even though Oliver Bierhoff felt that everything was over in a TV interview he did.
"Since the end of the World Cup, Grindel has been under heavy pressure on his decisions before the start of the tournament, and rightly so.
"Recently, he publicly said that I should once again explain my actions and put me at fault for the poor results of the team in Russia, despite telling me that it was over in Berlin.
"I do not speak for Grindel now, but because I want it, I will no longer be a scapegoat for his incompetence and inability to do his job properly.
"I used to wear the German jersey with as much pride and enthusiasm, but now I do not do it ... This decision was extremely difficult to take because I always gave everything for my teammates , coaches and good people from Germany.
"But when high ranking DFB officials treat me like they did, then I'm sick of it, that's not why I play football and I'm not going to be idle."
The playmaker won 92 caps for his country, scoring 23 goals and played a key role in Germany's victory at the 2014 World Cup in Brazil.
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