Türkiye election: Özil posts photo with Erdogan even after election victory

Mesut Özil has again posted a photo of himself and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on his Instagram channel. It shows a smiling Özil next to Erdogan and his wife Emine on the gangway of the presidential plane. The photo was taken on Sunday evening when it was clear that Erdogan had won the runoff against his challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu. Özil wrote “Thank God” and posted a heart and a Turkish flag. Before the first ballot two weeks ago, Özil had shared a picture with Erdogan and called for the presidential election.

Özil has a close relationship with the Turkish President, who is even his best man. Erdogan won the runoff election against opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu (74) on Sunday. According to the preliminary results of the electoral authority, he received around 52 percent of the votes, Kilicdaroglu around 48 percent.

The break after the World Cup in Russia 2018

Before the World Cup in Russia in 2018, a picture of Özil and Erdogan appeared for the first time and caused a huge outcry in Germany at the time. In the course of the debate, there were numerous racist statements and whistles at international matches. The German national team under national coach Joachim Löw only half-heartedly supported the criticized national player. Özil himself, in contrast to national team colleague Ilkay Gündogan, who had also been photographed with Erdogan, refused a public apology.

The DFB under its then President Reinhard Grindel also gave a weak picture. The rift between Özil and the DFB was so big that the professional announced his resignation from the national team. Özil made serious accusations against the DFB leadership, which he accused of racism.