ISTANBUL: Former
German international football Mesut Ozil was married in Istanbul on Friday with
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as his best man. The 30-year-old Ozil,
who has Turkish family roots, sparked controversy last year when he was
photographed with Erdogan, raising questions about the footballer's loyalty to
Germany on the eve of their disastrous 2018 World Cup campaign.

The Turkish
leader arrived in the early evening for Friday's ceremony at a luxury hotel on
the banks of the Bosphorus to see the former Arsenal midfielder marry his
fiancee, former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse. A smiling Erdogan and his wife Emine
were seen standing next to the young couple as their marriage was formalized.

After 92 appearances
for Germany, including a key role in the 2014 World Cup victory, Ozil suddenly
quit the national squad last July, accusing German football officials of
racism. Ozil announced in March that he had asked Erdogan to be his best man.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff was part of a chorus of
criticism of the invitation. Helge Braun, a CDU told the Bild newspaper then
that it "makes one sad" that Ozil would make a such a move despite
having already been sharply criticized by the German public over his first
meeting with Erdogan.

Ozil has dated
Gulse since 2017 and the couple announced their engagement in June 2018. The
footballer, a third-generation German, whipped up a political storm when he was
pictured alongside Erdogan last May. Criticism intensified after the red-faced
defending champions crashed out of the first round of the World Cup in Russia.
In the wake of the World Cup fiasco, Ozil announced his resignation from the
national squad, saying: "I am German when we win, an immigrant when we
lose".

Erdogan often
attends marriages in Turkey of celebrities, whom he particularly seeks out
during election campaigns. His presence at Ozil's marriage comes ahead of a
mayoral election in Istanbul on June 23, required after the original voting in
March was annulled following a narrow victory for the main opposition
Republican People's Party. - AFP