Football German ex-national player
Mesut Özil has a tattoo of the Gray Wolves
Status: 23.07.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
Mesut Özil completed 92 international matches for Germany. A new tattoo of the 34-year-old causes outrage
Source: Press photo agency ULMER/ULMER/Markus Ulmer
Mesut Özil poses topless on Instagram. In the photos, the former German national player reveals a new tattoo. These are symbols for a right-wing extremist movement from Turkey.
Two men stand in a gym and grin at the camera. They have their T-shirts rolled up over their chests; they proudly present their well-trained bellies. A scene that regularly occurs in gyms. In this case, one of the men is well known. It is ex-soccer world champion Mesut Özil.
The former Germany international retired last March and is now keeping fit with his personal trainer Alper Aksac. But in addition to Özil’s muscles, his new body jewelry is also noticeable in the current photos that Aksac posted on his Instagram profile. The 34-year-old, who won 92 caps for Germany in his career, now has a tattoo of the symbols of the Gray Wolves on his left breast above his heart.
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A flag with three crescents and a silhouette of a howling wolf can be seen on Özil’s skin. The flag with the three crescents (“Üc Hilal”) served as a war flag in the Ottoman Empire and is today the party logo of the Turkish right-wing extremist party MHP – “Party of the Nationalist Movement”. The MHP is an ally of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his AKP party. Erdogan is close to the Gray Wolves and repeatedly shows the wolf salute in public.
In Germany, supporters of the Turkish “Ülkücü” movement are called “grey wolves”. According to the Office for the Protection of the Constitution, there are over 11,000 members of the right-wing extremist movement in Germany alone. Anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism are formative elements of the ideology. The Gray Wolves’ enemies are Jews, Christians, Armenians, Greeks, Communists, Freemasons, Israel, the EU, the Vatican and the United States. In Germany, the organization is monitored by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.
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Özil himself has not yet distributed the photos and, according to dpa, was asked by a consultant for a statement. The 34-year-old’s verified Instagram account liked Aksac’s post. Whether the image on Özil’s chest is a permanent tattoo could not be clarified independently.
Özil received the Bambi for integration in 2010
In recent years, Özil has repeatedly attracted attention because of his closeness to Erdogan. Before the 2018 World Cup in Russia, the soccer star, who was born in Gelsenkirchen, had his picture taken with the Turkish President. The photo was taken shortly before the tournament and the upcoming presidential elections in Turkey. Özil’s behavior and his partisanship with Erdogan sparked a debate about integration in Germany. The footballer himself was awarded the Bambi for integration in 2010.
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Özil, the son of Turkish parents, decided at the age of 18 to pursue a career in the German national team and obtain German citizenship. After widespread criticism of his relationship with President Erdogan and his performance in the national team, Özil resigned as a national player in July 2018. In his statement, Özil justified his decision with “racism and a lack of respect” that he felt in Germany.
Özil played in the Bundesliga for Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen, later he was under contract with Real Madrid, Arsenal London, Fenerbahce Istanbul and Basaksehir.
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