Özil meets with Erdoğan, invites him to wedding
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) shared an image from the visit on its official Twitter account.
German football star playing of Turkish origin Mesut Özil and his fiancée visited Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in İstanbul, Deutsche Welle Turkish reported on Saturday.
The Arsenal midfielder was accompanied by his fiancée, Turkish actress Amine Gülşe, during the meeting, when he extended the Turkish president an invitation to their upcoming wedding, it said.
The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) shared an image from the visit on its official Twitter account.
Cumhurbaşkanımız Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, futbolcu Mesut Özil ve nişanlısı Amine Gülşe’yi Atatürk Havalimanı’nda kabul etti. pic.twitter.com/YZMzIQxQKE
— AK Parti (@Akparti) March 15, 2019
The couple were engaged in January of this year.
The 30-year-old made headlines before the 2018 World Cup when he was pictured with Turkish President Erdoğan, a move that came under intense criticism in Germany and set off a chain of events culminating in the Özil calling an end to his international football career.
The head of Germany’s soccer federation, Reinhard Grindel, accused Ozil, along with other players of Turkish origin of allowing themselves to be “exploited” by Erdoğan for political purposes after posing with a photograph with the Turkish president.
The 30-year-old said “racism and disrespect” over his Turkish roots led him to make the call in a dramatic resignation where he attacked the German football federation, its president, fans and the media, criticizing what he saw as racism and double standards in the treatment of people with Turkish roots.
Source: Ahval
