German
Chancellor Angela Merkel has expressed dismay at meeting German
football players Masoud Ozil and Elkay Gundogan with Turkish President
Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
Ozil and Uganda met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London on Sunday, ahead of Turkey's presidential election in June.
The two players, of Turkish origin, took a picture of the Turkish president and gave him their shirts. Ozil gave him his shirt with the Arsenal team and Gondogan gave him his shirt with Manchester City.
According to press reports, the German Chancellor expressed her criticism of the meeting with Erdogan.
Ozil and Uganda met Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in London on Sunday, ahead of Turkey's presidential election in June.
The two players, of Turkish origin, took a picture of the Turkish president and gave him their shirts. Ozil gave him his shirt with the Arsenal team and Gondogan gave him his shirt with Manchester City.
According to press reports, the German Chancellor expressed her criticism of the meeting with Erdogan.
German government spokesman Steffen Zeibert on Tuesday quoted Merkel as a "questionable and misunderstood" position.
The pictures, published by Erdogan's party, have been harshly criticized, as the players are said to have helped Erdogan's election campaign by appearing with him.
German Football Federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel described the action as "a bad job" of the three players.
"The federation certainly respects the privacy of our players with roots outside of Germany, but football and the federation appreciate values that Mr. Erdogan does not respect enough," he said.
"So it is not good for the international players to put themselves in the running of Erdogan's campaign, which certainly does not serve the union's efforts to integrate players," the statement said.
The pictures, published by Erdogan's party, have been harshly criticized, as the players are said to have helped Erdogan's election campaign by appearing with him.
German Football Federation (DFB) president Reinhard Grindel described the action as "a bad job" of the three players.
"The federation certainly respects the privacy of our players with roots outside of Germany, but football and the federation appreciate values that Mr. Erdogan does not respect enough," he said.
"So it is not good for the international players to put themselves in the running of Erdogan's campaign, which certainly does not serve the union's efforts to integrate players," the statement said.
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