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What's the story?
Germany's technical director, Oliver Bierhoff, has admitted his mistakes during Mesut Ozil's infamous international retirement last year and has apologised for how the situation was handled by the German media, fans, and everyone involved.
In case you didn't know...
Ozil retired from international football soon after Germany's early exit from the FIFA World Cup last summer.
The midfielder cited racial discrimination within the German football federation (DFB) and the media following his high-profile meeting with Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as reasons for his decision, thereby sparking a debate over racism in sports.
The Arsenal star took to Twitter to release his statement, which read,
"The treatment I have received from the DFB and many others makes me no longer want to wear the German national team shirt. I feel unwanted and think that what I have achieved since my international debut in 2009 has been forgotten."
"It is with a heavy heart and after much consideration that because of recent events, I will no longer be playing for Germany at international level whilst I have this feeling of racism and disrespect. I used to wear the German shirt with such pride and excitement, but now I don't."
The heart of the matter
In an interview with this week's edition of Die Zeit, Bierhoff has admitted to his mistakes in dealing with the situation. He said (via Tribal Football),
"It went wrong and I'm very sorry, there were a lot of mistakes, also on my part."
"Until today, nobody had a convincing idea of how we could have handled his situation in the national team in a different way."
"Of course I would have wished Mesut an exit in another way, I can only repeat that, in the end, all of us gave an image that was not good."
What's next?
Ozil continues to play for Premier League outfit Arsenal, who are currently fighting for a top-four finish. The Gunners will hope to overcome their travel woes and get back to a top-four spot when they face Watford away on Monday night.
