Mesut Ozil has responded following his suspension from club Fenerbahce, after he fell out with the club's interim manager Ismail Kartal.
On Thursday, Turkish side Fenerbahce released a statement, revealing that he, and teammate Ozan Tufan, had been 'excluded' from the squad.
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Ozil had started the previous weekend's game against Konyaspor but the captain was pulled off at half time, with the team going on to win 2-1.
Now the former Arsenal midfielder has taken to social media to respond, posting a picture of the Fenerbahce and Turkey flags side-by-side.
Along with the picture is a caption saying, "The main thing is Fenerbahce," in support of the team.
"Our 'Football A Team' players Mesut Ozil and Ozan Tufan have been excluded from the squad as per the decision taken," the statement from the club original said.
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However there were little details from the Istanbul side about why the 33-year-old and Tufan, who was on loan at Watford until January, had been 'excluded' from the team.
Later it was claimed that the former Real Madrid star had fallen out with Kartal, who took over from Vitor Pereira at the end of last year.
One report said that the creative number 10 had been 'physically incompetent' at the weekend and was unable to live up to the intensity of the game.
Ozil has had injuries recently, and missed the first eight games of the year with a problem with his lower back, but returned at the beginning of March.
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The former Arsenal man played just five minutes on return and then 74 minutes in the 5-2 win against Alanyaspor, scoring in the process, before his 45 minutes at the weekend.
It's not exactly the first time that the World Cup winner has fallen out with his team, having done it at Arsenal and with the national team.
He was completely left out of the Gunners' side when football returned after the break caused by Coronavirus in 2020.
Ozil was seen sat in the stands but very rarely played for Mikel Arteta's side at the time, before going on to blame his exile from the team on the fact he'd made negative comments about China.
He finally moved to Fener in January 2021, after having his contract at Emirates Stadium terminated six months early.
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Ozil also fell out with the national team, and retired from international duty, after citing racism and disrespect towards him.
His contract at the Sukru Saracoglu Stadium doesn't expire until 2024 so he will be hoping his removal from the team right now is a situation that can be resolved.
With the interim manager leaving in the summer it could be that he only has to wait out until the next man to take charge of Fenerbahce.
Featured Image Credit: PATopics: fenerbahce, Super Lig, Mesut Ozil, Turkey
