DFB regrets Mesut Özil’s decision to quit Germany, rejects suggestions of racism Germany's football association, the DFB, has responded to the criticism it has received since Mesut Özil announced he had quit the national team. It rejected any suggestion of racism and stressed its integration work.

July 23, 2018   

(Deutsche Welle) In a statement released on Monday, the DFB (German football association) said it regretted but respected Mesut Özil’s decision to retire from the national team. It also thanked the midfielder for his 92 international appearances for the country, as well as his “decisive role in Germany winning the World Cup in Brazil in 2014.”

It went on to stress that the integration work that it does on all levels of German football was of “central importance” to the DFB.

It also conceded that it could have done better in managing the affair that started when Mesut Özil and Ilkay Gündogan had their pictures taken with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan prior to the World Cup in Russia.

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