Germany midfielder Mesut Ozil announced his retirement from international football with immediate effect on Sunday, hitting out at what he perceived to be unfair discrimination surrounding his meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May.
Ozil was part of the Germany squad that exited the World Cup in Russia at the group stage and was the target of criticism for his performances as well as his meeting with Erdogan who has been accused of human rights abuses.
The Arsenal playmaker has defended his actions in a series of statements Sunday, the first time he has publicly addressed the matter, reports Reuters.
In the statements, the 29-year-old said treatment he had received from the German Football Association (DFB) had made him "no longer want to wear the German national team shirt".
"People with racially discriminative backgrounds should not be allowed to work in the largest football federation in the world that has players from dual-heritage families," Ozil wrote on Twitter.
He also claimed he was being blamed for Germany's disappointing World Cup, according to a BBC report.
In May, Ozil was criticised after being photographed with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan at a London event.
Ozil attended the event with fellow Germany international Ilkay Gundogan. Like Ozil, Manchester City's Gundogan is also of Turkish descent.
Ozil says he and Gundogan talked about football with the president.
Afterwards, photographs were released by Turkey's governing AK Party in the build-up to elections in the country, which Erdogan won outright.
Many German politicians questioned Ozil and Gundogan's loyalty to German democratic values.
Germany has previously criticised the Turkish leader's crackdown on political dissent following a failed coup.
Ozil said he would have been "disrespecting his ancestors' roots" had he not posed for photographs with the Turkish president.
He added that he and his family had received hate mail, threatening phone calls and comments on social media.
“I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don’t,” Ozil said.
