German FA boss admits Mesut Ozil needed more support over 'racist attacks'

The underfire president of the German Football Association DFB admitted on Sunday that he should have given Mesut Ozil more support when the midfielder was the target of racist attacksI should have positioned myself more clearly given the racist attacks from some corners and should have put myself in front of Mesut Ozil Reinhard Grindel told German daily Bild on Sunday Such attacks are unacceptable I should have found clear words Arsenal midfielder Ozil 29 announced his shock retirement from international duty last month in the wake of Germanys World Cup debacleHe complained of facing racism and disrespect due to his Turkish roots and specifically took aim at Grindel in a threepage statement After Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan who also has Turkish family met Turkeys president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May questions were raised about the pairs loyalty to GermanyGundogan and Ozil who were both born in Germany were booed in a preWorld Cup defeat to Austria In the eyes of Grindel and his supporters I am German when we win but I am an immigrant when we lose Ozil wrote damningly sparking fierce debate about integration in GermanyBut while Gundogan made a statement to insist the Erdogan meeting had no political motivation Ozil kept silent for two months before walking away from Germany duty In his parting statement he accused Grindel of failing to back him in the row over the Erdogan meeting and felt blamed for Germanys woeful World Cup display finishing bottom of their group There have been calls for Grindel 56 who has been head of the DFB since 2016 to resignGrindel admits he should have handled things differently but rejected Ozils claims that he was made a scapegoat for the World Cup debacleI am sorry he feels let down by the DFB Grindel said But it is important to emphasis that after the World Cup I never commented on his performances For me it was always clear that we win together and lose together To blame a single player for going out would be absurdAfter the photos with president Erdogan Ilkay Gundogan made a clear statement I would have liked that also from Ozil because I know from conversations with fans that they also had questions about it However this must not be misunderstood as a criticism of his playing performance Grindel said the door is not closed for Ozil to play for Germany again under head coach Joachim Loew who has always supported the attacking midfielder The board of the DFB and the national coach would need to discuss that together said GrindelBut so far there has not been a discussion between Joachim Loew and Mesut Ozil which I know would be very important to the national coach Loew has promised sweeping changes to the squad he will announce on August 29 to face World Cup winners France in Munich on September 6Grindel wants to bring the Germany team closer to the public with cheaper tickets for home internationals and open training sessions Germanys World Cup slogan Best Never Rest was criticised by fans and Grindel admits the marketing around the team hit the wrong note I also think the concept around the term die Mannschaft the team is perceived as very artificial We should put that to the test Grindel addedCatch up on all the latest sports news and updates here Also download the new midday Android and iOS apps to get latest updatesThis story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Except for the change in headline the story has been provided ASIS AS AVAILABLE without any verification or editing from our side Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever