HERE WE ARE, THEN
Given his record of prosecuting and jailing human rights defenders, journalists and other folk who displease him, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan probably isn’t the kind of guy you want to be seen gurning alongside in a photo op. Then again, given his record of prosecuting and jailing human rights defenders, journalists and others who displease him, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdoğan probably isn’t the kind of guy you want to avoid gurning beside in a photo op if you’re invited to do exactly that.
When Mesut Özil, along with his fellow England-based footballers of Turkish heritage Ilkay Gundogan and Cenk Tosun, stood alongside Erdoğan and said “cheese” at a function in London last May, the trio all got varying degrees of entirely justified flak for what was a fairly bad idea. So often blamed for the shortcomings of others on and off the football field, it seemed to be the Arsenal midfielder who got the lion’s share of the abuse for his apparent lack of loyalty to Germany and now he has come out swinging haymakers. In a blistering three-part statement, the Germany international justified his meeting with Erdoğan by saying he did it out of respect for the office of the presidency of the country of his ancestors. The grandson of Turkish immigrants, Özil was born in Gelsenkirchen and is therefore as German as Bratwurst and oompah bands, and he used the rest of his very long statement to explain how German FA (DFB) president, Reinhard Grindel, has made him feel like an outcast in his own country.
“I will no longer stand for being a scapegoat for his incompetence and inability to do his job properly,” fumed Özil. “I know that he wanted me out of the team after the picture and publicised his view on [Social media disgrace] Twitter without any thinking or consultation.” Özil went on to say that in “in the eyes of Grindel and his supporters, I am German when we win but I am an immigrant when we lose”. He then announced he will “no longer be playing for Germany at international level while I have this feeling of racism and disrespect”. Too long to reproduce in its entirety in the world’s most tea-timely football email, Özil’s broadside was one of the most powerful recent political statements made by a footballer … well, certainly since Harry Kane was quizzed on the ramifications of Brexit and said: “Obviously I’m focusing on the Euros but I guess we’ll just have to wait and see.”
As Özil met up with his Arsenal teammates for their pre-season jolly to Singapore, the fallout from his courageous one-man stand was the talk of Germany. In some quarters the reaction was sympathetic, while in others it was, with monotonous predictability, considerably less so. “I am glad that this scare is now over,” parped Bayern Munich’s Uli Hoeness. “He had been playing $hit for years. He last won a tackle before the 2014 World Cup. And now he and his $hit performances hide beyond this picture.” While Opta stats would beg to differ when it comes to Hoeness’s assessment, the Bayern president’s patriotism certainly cannot be questioned. By his own account, the last time Özil won a tackle, Hoeness was watching from a cell while serving three-and-a-half years in prison for tax-knack.
QUOTE OF THE DAY
“Everybody’s seen the drop off since Mario Silva left Watford, or maybe even before then. I think that he has seen [Richarlison] first hand and worked with him on a daily basis so he is backing his own judgment … Everton fans do not want potential. They want the absolute first-class player now” – Sam Allardyce, who is in no way bitter, invents a new name for the man who succeeded him while belching all over Silva’s plans to fork out £50m for the Brazilian.
RECOMMENDED LOOKING
It’s our shiny transfer window interactive.
SUPPORT THE GUARDIAN
Producing the Guardian’s thoughtful, in-depth journalism [the stuff not normally found in this email, obviously – Fiver Ed] is expensive, but supporting us isn’t. If you value our journalism, please support us. In return we can hopefully arm you with the kind of knowledge that makes you sound slightly less uninformed during those hot reactive gegenpress chats you so enjoy. And if you think what we do is enjoyable [again, etc and so on – Fiver Ed], please help us keep coming back here to give you more of the same.
FIVER LETTERS
“In this (very) silly season, one need only look to the glamorous group-stages of the Scottish League Cup to find a truly meaningful result, one to be read in the voice of Tim Gudgin: East Fife 4-5 Forfar. Admittedly, this was the result on penalties after a 1-1 full-time scoreline, but surely better than nothing. Or nothing-nothing” – Kevin McKee.
“Re: Friday’s Fiver. Actually, FH stands for Fimleikafélag Hafnarfjarðar (Hafnarfjörðurs gymnastics club), so FH Hafnarfjörður is like saying ATM machine” – Tryggvi Kristjánsson.
“Re: your comment about rotund chancers from the Romanian fourth division (Friday’s Fiver). Romanian football contains three levels, not four. However, Liga II is actually comprised of two parallel divisions and Liga III contains six parallel divisions. Please clarify which one of these will be providing a footballer to West Ham on loan?” – Trevor Martin.
Send your letters to the.boss@theguardian.com. And if you’ve nothing better to do you can also tweet The Fiver. Today’s winner of our prizeless letter o’the day is … Tryggvi Kristjánsson.
BITS AND BOBS
José Mourinho would be happy to pack Anthony Martial’s bags and bundle him on the good ship Do One as long as the Manchester United forward sets sail for a club outside the Premier League and for a decent wedge of cash.
Joe Hart has put leading clubs in the Hallmark Security League on high alert after saying he will cast the net far and wide to get a move away from Manchester City. “I love all the leagues. I’ve shown that,” he honked. “I went out to Serie A and I loved Serie A. Leagues are there to be played in. There’s no league I’d say no to.”
2012’s João Moutinho is this close to signing for Wolves for €5m.
Jürgen Klopp has downplayed the severity of the knack that forced Joel Matip out of Liverpool’s 3-1 pre-season friendly defeat by Dortmund. “It’s not the same [thigh-knack]. It’s another muscle,” he diagnosed. “It looks like, hopefully, only a little tear … it’s not cool.”
Parma forward Emanuele Calaiò has been banned for two years for attempted match-fixing while the club have been docked five points but will retain their Serie A status.
And two months after requiring stitches to his head following an attack by disgruntled Sporting fans, Bas Dost has inked a new three-year deal with the club. “It has been a difficult time but I still have the overwhelming feeling that I belong here,” he cheered.
STILL WANT MORE?
Richard Williams on Mesut Özil, Germany and the state of things.
Fancy a club-by-club guide to the Premier League transfer business so far? Here you go then.
Football has a diversity problem – here’s my blueprint for change, writes Raj Athwal.
Paul Wilson on why Everton won’t be gaining entry to trendy Club Top Six anytime soon, even if they wear smart shoes.
Aston Villa should stick rather than twist after recent turmoil, reckons Nick Miller.
Oh, and if it’s your thing … you can follow Big Website on Big Social FaceSpace. And INSTACHAT, TOO!
