'So much love': Ozil thanks Arsenal fans after Germany racism row

AFP  |  Singapore 

Mesut thanked Arsenal fans for their "love" at a pre-season friendly after a week following his racism allegations against Germany's body.

"Thanks to the Gunners in for showing so much love tonight," the 29-year-old German tweeted, with a picture of him waving to the crowd.

Arsenal fans dominated the audience of 23,000 who watched the team go down 3-1 on penalties to Atletico in the International Champions Cup, after normal time ended at 1-1.

Ozil, benched after his late return to training following the World Cup, sent shockwaves through German when he quit the national team, complaining of "racism and disrespect".

German chief rejected the racism charge but admitted he should have defended after the playmaker was abused for having a photograph taken with Turkey's strongman

Ozil, who was born in to Turkish-origin parents and lifted in 2014, also felt he was unfairly singled out for their group-stage exit at this year's tournament.

Arsenal's new head coach, Unai Emery, and players have rallied round Ozil on their pre-season tour, while the hashtags #StandWithOzil and #SayNoToRacism have been popular on

"Of course everybody supports Mesut. We're with him, we're trying to help him," told AFP this week.

"Everyone knows that Arsenal is a team with a lot of foreign players and foreign employees. It doesn't matter which country you represent, it's like family and we support each other.

(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)

First Published: Fri, July 27 2018. 12:45 IST