Turkey President Takes Up Best Man Duties At Ozil Wedding
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was present for best man duties at German footballer, Mesut Ozil’s wedding on Friday.
The Arsenal midfielder who has Turkish roots caused an hubbub on social media when he took a picture with the Turkish President just before the last World Cup.
Ozil then quit International football citing the backlash he received on social media which he tagged ‘racism and disrespect’ he had experienced following the photos he took with Erdogan.
The German midfielder took his fiancee, former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse to the altar at a luxury hotel on the banks of the Bosphorus.
The duo kicked off their relationship in 2017 and announced their engagement in June 2018.
Ozil had announced sometime in March this year that the Turkish President, Erdogan was going to be his best man, consequently sparking series of criticisms in his home country.
In the heat of the moment, Helge Braun, German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s chief of staff, told Bild newspaper that it was sad Ozil made such a choice given the reaction to his meeting with the Erdogan last year.
Turkish President, Erdogan is well known for attending celebrity marriages in Turkey most especially during election campaigns.
The President’s attendance at the German footballer’s wedding comes ahead of a re-run mayoral elections in the country’s capital, Istanbul. The elections were annulled following a narrow defeat of his AKP candidate sparking criticisms from the Internsrional scene.
The third generation Turkish-German was a pivotal part of the German team who lifted the World Cup in 2014 after a 7-1 drubbing of Brazil on the way to the finals.
Ozil with 92 caps for his country has been voted national team’s player of the year five times since 2011 by fans of the German National team.
However in May, the picture he took with with the Turkish criticism sparked a lot of controversies aided by the early exit of the German team in the group stages of the 2018 World Cup.
