Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp defends Arsenal star Mesut Ozil over controversial photo with Turkey president Erdogan
Klopp stated that the whole situation had blown up and spoke out in support of Ozil
JURGEN KLOPP has spoken out to defend Mesut Ozil over the backlash he received for posing for a picture with Turkish president Recep Erdogan.
The Arsenal star had been on the receiving end of a barrage of abuse which fellow German Klopp has labelled 'hypocritical'.
Ozil who played for Germany for nine years is proud of his German and Turkish heritage, but was lambasted for posing for a picture with the Turkish president.
After gifting Erdogan with a signed shirt he came under fire from German football officials, but Klopp hinted that he had been the victim of politically-motivated acts and suggested that there could be double standards as there are many German players, including Emre Can, who have Turkish roots.
Speaking to , he said: "This is a classic example of absolute misinformation and, of course, complete nonsense.
"In politics, little things have always been blown up and big things pushed away in order to continue."
In a show of solidarity, he said: "I know Ilkay Gundogan very well, I know Emre Can and Nuri Sahin very well.
"I do not know Mesut so well, but I would like to take him inside.
"I do not doubt these guys, at least about loyalty to our homeland.
"The difference is they just have one more thing, where is the problem? That's beautiful."
Speaking out about the incident, he added:" Cultural diversity, we all thought it was really cool around the 2006 World Cup.
"I saw these fantastic commercials where the parents of Gerald Asamoah and Mario Gomez had a BBQ party togerther.
"We all sighed for how great that works.
"And now two guys are seduced by a politically quite intelligent people to a photo and have relatively few opportunities to say what's right- that's why I find this discussion hypocritical."
The Gunners' attacker quit international football earlier this summer after feeling like he had been used as a scapegoat for Germany's poor World Cup performance.
In an emotional statement, the World Cup winner spoke of how he used to wear the German shirt with such pride an excitement, but no longer experienced those emotions.
Ozil spoke of officials disrespecting his Turkish roots and accused them of being racist.
He said: "When high-ranking DFB officials treat me as they did, disrespect my Turkish roots and selfishly turn me into political propaganda, then enough is enough.
Ozil was summoned by DFB president Reinhard Grindel following the picture with Erdogan.
Grindel called for the midfielder to be axed from the squad before the World Cup in Russia began and then publicly blamed him for Germany’s failure.
Ozil blasted: “I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his incompetence and inability to do his job properly.
“In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose.
“Despite paying taxes in Germany, donating facilities to German schools and winning the World Cup with Germany in 2014, I am still not accepted in society. I am treated as being ‘different’.
“Are there criteria for being fully German that I do not fit? My friends Lukas Podolski and Miroslav Klose are not referred to as German-Polish, so why am I German-Turkish? Is it because it is Turkey? Is it because I’m Muslim?”
