MESUT OZIL has been banned from visiting his former side Werder Bremen due to “recent actions” that “do not represent the club’s values”.
The Bundesliga side is hosting a “farewell game” for beloved former player Diego Ribas this Saturday.
The Brazilian, 40, dazzled crowds during his three years with Werder between 2006 and 2009.
Several of his former team-mates have been invited to take part, but not Ozil.
The former Germany international played alongside Diego during the 2008-09 season.
So his name is a notable omission from this weekend’s festivities.
Per Bild, a Werder spokesperson said: “We have agreed with Diego not to invite Mesut due to his recent actions, which do not represent the club’s values.”
Since hanging up his boots, Ozil has become involved in politics.
Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan was best man at Ozil’s wedding in 2019.
Ozil, whose parents are Turkish, was named on the Central Decision and Management Board for Erdogan’s Justice and Development party.
The former midfielder, who now has a hulking bodybuilder’s frame, has also raised eyebrows with a new tattoo on his chest.
The tattoo appears to feature a grey wolf with three crescent moons – symbols often associated with right wing extremism.
The Grey Wolves group are a controversial Turkish far-right movement.
Banned in France and Austria, the Grey Wolves have been linked with several high-profile crimes including the 1981 attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II.
Ozil’s team of representatives did not comment when asked by the Telegraph if their client’s tattoo was a direct reference to the Grey Wolves organisation.
Turkey international Merih Demiral was banned for two matches by Uefa last summer for his “Grey Wolf” celebration performed during Euro 2024.
The gesture saw Demiral raise the index and little finger of each hand above his head.
At the time, Uefa claimed that the ban was handed to Demiral “for violating the basic rules of decent conduct, for using sports events for manifestations of a non-sporting nature and for bringing the sport of football into disrepute”.
Read the full article here