Mesut Özil’s public life connects an international football career with disputes about belonging, racism and Turkish politics. His own statements, football records and documented political activity provide the basis for examining those questions.

Mesut Özil in Arsenal’s red-and-white kit striking the ball with his left foot, with spectators behind him
Özil playing for Arsenal against Stoke City on 22 September 2013, photographed by Ronnie Macdonald. © Ronnie Macdonald · CC BY 2.0 · Wikimedia Commons.

Football career and international record

Özil, born in Gelsenkirchen, played for Schalke 04 and Werder Bremen before Real Madrid and Arsenal, and ended his playing career with Fenerbahçe and İstanbul Başakşehir. The German Football Association records 92 senior appearances and 23 goals for Germany, including a starting role in the 2014 World Cup-winning team. He won the German Cup with Bremen in 2009 and the Spanish league with Madrid in 2012. His retirement from professional football was announced on 22 March 2023. [1]

The 2018 photograph and his account of identity

In his statement of 22 July 2018, Özil described growing up in Germany with family roots in Turkey and belonging to both countries. He defended meeting President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in London that May as respect for the office held in his family’s country. He said the photograph was not an endorsement of particular policies or an election intervention. These were his stated reasons for the meeting. [2] The account identifies German and Turkish belonging; the sources presented here provide no basis for asserting Kurdish or Zaza ancestry.

International retirement and the DFB response

Özil’s statement also alleged racist treatment, threats and scapegoating after Germany’s World Cup exit. He announced that he would stop playing internationally for Germany, citing racism and disrespect. [2] The DFB’s response on 23 July thanked him for his sporting contribution and regretted that he felt insufficiently protected against racist abuse. It acknowledged shortcomings in handling the photograph controversy, while rejecting the allegation that the association itself was racist and maintaining that an explanation of the photograph had been necessary. [3]

The tattoo photograph and its significance

In July 2023, WDR journalist Carolyn Wißing examined a photograph posted by Özil’s trainer showing a howling wolf and three crescents on his chest. Her report interviewed researchers about the symbols’ association with the far-right Ülkücü movement, commonly called the Grey Wolves. It stated that Özil had not commented on the image at that time. [4] The Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution’s 2023 study documents the movement’s symbols, ethnic supremacism and hostility towards groups including Kurds, Armenians and Jews. It also describes violence against political opponents. [5] This context explains the concern surrounding the imagery. Formal organisational membership or responsibility for particular violent acts would require separate evidence.

A documented party role after football

AK Party records identify Özil as a member of its Central Decision and Executive Board, abbreviated MKYK. A party youth-organisation report dated 27 March 2025 describes his participation in an Istanbul iftar programme and a sports-themed meeting. [6] The party’s leadership directory also lists him when consulted in October 2026. [7] These records establish a formal political role and a dated activity after retirement. They add a different kind of evidence to the earlier photograph controversy: a party’s published account of its own personnel and events.

Sources and further reading

  1. DFB, Weltmeister Mesut Özil beendet Karriere (22 March 2023); career, international record and retirement.
  2. Mesut Özil, three-part statement of 22 July 2018, reproduced in German by ntv/SID on 23 July; his identity, meeting and retirement account.
  3. DFB statement, 23 July 2018, reproduced in full by SID/freenet; association’s response.
  4. Carolyn Wißing, WDR/tagesschau, Warum Özils “Graue Wölfe”-Tattoo ein Problem ist (25 July 2023); photograph and researcher interviews.
  5. Federal Office for the Protection of the Constitution, Türkischer Rechtsextremismus: Die Grauen Wölfe in Deutschland (2023), chapters 2, 4 and 5; previously retrieved publication consulted.
  6. AK Party Youth Organisation, Istanbul iftar and sports programme with MKYK member Mesut Özil (27 March 2025); party’s own event record.
  7. AK Party, Central Decision and Executive Board directory, consulted 22 October 2026; Mesut ÖZİL listing.