The former German national soccer player Mesut Özil has apparently got a tattoo that resembles the logo of the right-wing extremist “Ülkücü” movement. It is known in Germany under the name “Grey Wolves”.
Friederike Böge
Political correspondent for Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan based in Ankara.
A fitness trainer who claims to train Özil posted a photo of the former Arsenal player on Instagram over the weekend, showing the tattoo on his chest. The text accompanying the photo does not address this.
The trainer Alper Aksaç confirmed to the FAZ on the phone that he “officially” works with Özil as his personal trainer. He declined to comment on the tattoo. The footballer himself has not yet distributed or commented on the photo. His Twitter profile continues to show him bare-chested.
The Office for the Protection of the Constitution confirms the potential for violence
The tattoo depicts a howling wolf and three crescent moons. The latter refer to the logo of the right-wing nationalist party MHP. It is part of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s coalition government. The most recent report by the German Office for the Protection of the Constitution states that the aim of the Ülkücü movement is “the defense and strengthening of Turkishness”. This goes hand in hand with a “denigration of other ethnic groups”.
The supporters organized in associations in Germany are “trying to be moderate”. There is a high potential for violence in the unorganized scene in Germany. She lives out her “racist or anti-Semitic enemy images” in social media and in disputes with PKK supporters. The Office for the Protection of the Constitution estimates the number of Ülkücü supporters in Germany to be around 12,000.
In Turkey, the group’s trademark, the wolf salute, is part of the political mainstream. He can often be seen at events organized by Erdoğan and even more frequently at events organized by the coalition partner MHP.
The Ülkücü were founded in the 1960s as a paramilitary group by Alparslan Türkeş, who also founded the MHP and was involved in the 1960 military coup. At the time, the Gray Wolves’ commandos carried out bloody attacks on socialists, trade unionists and left-wing student leaders. They are blamed for numerous murders.
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Mesut Özil has long been criticized in Germany for his closeness to President Erdoğan. During the recent election campaign, he published a video in support of it. On election night in May, he also published a photo of him congratulating Erdoğan on his re-election. The President was Özil’s best man in 2019. In March of this year, the footballer ended his sports career.
