Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with his wife Emine, speaks to Turkish-German football player Mesut Ozil and his wife Amine Gulse during a wedding ceremony. Photos / AP
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, with his wife Emine, speaks to Turkish-German football player Mesut Ozil and his wife Amine Gulse during a wedding ceremony. Photos / AP
Mesut Ozil, the German football star who quit the national team last year after a photograph of him posing with the Turkish President unleashed a political storm, married a former Miss Turkey yesterday on the banks of the Bosporus.
His best man? President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey.
Ozil, whohas Turkish roots, said in March that he had asked Erdogan to be his best man.
In Germany, the decision was immediately criticised as "irresponsible" and "disappointing." Many pointed to the furore last year after the athlete posed for a picture with Erdogan, who was running for re-election at the time.
But Erdogan and his wife, Emine Erdogan, attended the ceremony and took photographs with the bride and groom. The President also gave a speech denouncing birth control.
Born in Germany to immigrants from Turkey, Ozil became one of Germany's most popular football stars. Many saw him as a symbol of modern German soccer and, by extension, a more diverse nation.
But he abruptly quit the national team in the face of harsh criticism, first over his meeting with Erdogan and then for his performance in Germany's embarrassing early exit from the 2018 World Cup.
In a series of social media posts announcing his resignation, he alluded to feeling punished for his family history, accusing German football officials, the news media and fans of blaming him for the team's failure.
Ozil, who now plays for Arsenal in the English Premier League, was on the German national team for more than a decade, and had a major role in its 2014 World Cup victory.
"I'm a German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose," he wrote.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, centre right, with Turkish-German football player Mesut Ozil, centre, his wife Amine Gulse and others.
The details of Ozil's lavish wedding to Amine Gulse, a Swedish-born model who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2014, were closely followed in Germany.
The tabloid Bild ran an article about the wedding that mentioned the Turkish President, but also the expense and pageantry of the ceremony.
The wedding reception was officiated by Istanbul's governor and acting mayor, Ali Yerlikaya, an honour bestowed on prominent figures in society. According to local news reports, it was held at the Four Seasons hotel, a 19th-century palace on the shores of the Bosporus in Istanbul that is one of the most expensive venues in Turkey.
