It's all fun and games 'til someone gets racist on Twitter...

[renee shah]

Özil reports Twitter user for racial abuse

PEPE ÍÑIGUEZ. Hamburg 06/19/2012

Real Madrid's German international Mesut Özil has reported the owner of a Twitter account for racial abuse, after the player was accused of not being German, according to the Bild newspaper.

The player's lawyer - Sascha Beumer – decided to take legal action after an unknown Twitter user posted messages using a private account during the Denmark-Germany game, stating that the player was not German and criticising his surname – which is of Muslim descent.

"Özil isn't German! A piece of paper doesn't change your origins", were the unknown user’s words in their first message, then adding that nobody with a non-German name should play in the German team.

Soon after, amid the protests - both online and offline -, Twitter decided to block the user's account from where the racist comments came from.

The Real Madrid player's father and agent - Mustafa Özil – totally agreed with his son's decision to report the incident: "it's important to say that you can't get away with saying things like that. This person has overstepped the mark".

Özil – who has played in all three of Germany's games so far in the 2012 Euros – was born in Gelsenkirchen (West Germany), while his parents come from Turkey. The Real Madrid player has always defended his German status.

Comments

[jenny-jenkins.livejournal.com]

I'm so glad you posted this. It was going to go into the Portugal Match spam but on reflection it deserves its own post.

That "Ozil isn't German..." BS is tiresomely common online. Mesut is just a poor little cultural orphan as far as the reader comments are concerned on too many sites.

I say report them all.

[tragedyofempty.livejournal.com]

This is the dumbest thing ever! I'm American because I was born here and I choose to identify this way. I could say 'well I'm German and Spanish' because I can trace my roots to both Germany and Spain. But that doesn't make me less American. It's like Nuri decided to play for Turkey though he was born in Germany.

People are dumb. I'm glad Mesut's people are handling this. They pick on him because he's not vocal about shit

[arisu-wa-doko.livejournal.com]

Ugh, the shit people say. I think i've seen that comment, along with "euro should only be played by european (caucasian?) player"

It's sad - you're born there, grow up there, and people still think you don't belong because of how you look.

I bet the one that say that isn't german, i believe most german people would care more about the victory he brings in euro than his descent.

[lovinthelads.livejournal.com]

Poor Mesut. I've seen a LOT of stuff this summer attacking the German National Team for not being "German", but FFS, the kid was born and raised there. We live in a global community. There is no such thing as "really German".

And seriously, the captain of America's team is Carlos Bocanegra, son of a Mexican immigrant. You gonna demand his papers, too?

Though I have to say, I'm interested that this one account is singled out. I see racist crap there all the time. I unfollow those people immediately, but I know it's there.

[13oct.livejournal.com]

This is such bulshit. Stuff like this makes me livid. I am very glad that Mesut's father is taking a hard stance against such blatant crap.

[charliechaz.livejournal.com]

....so confused ......... I'm American so I don't understand all European laws...but where is the criminal liability. I can see twitter policing the account and deleting the racists comments ....but his lawyer is filing a complaint...with who ? FIFa? The police ? Was this another athlete who posted the comments?

As much as I would like it to be so, being a racists isn't a crime? I'm confused

[naobot.livejournal.com]

I feel really bad for Mesut when almost every single Youtube video about him or article about him has arguments in the comments over his German-ness or his Turkish-ness. :/ I'm glad that action is being taken against this guy.

#secondgenerationproblems

[suzanne410.livejournal.com]

This whole issue continues to baffle me, and yet I understand that it’s not as simple as I’d like to make it. Simpleminded me thinks, “He was born and raised in Germany!” end of story. But of course I realize there is a great deal of history and politics involved. Mix in a dose of ignorance, a lack of tolerance, a hefty amount of idiocy and you’ll likely end up with racism at it’s finest.
I like to think that with each passing generation we get a little better. My parents, though I love them dearly, say things about people’s ethnicity or nationality that surprise and upset me. Just the other day I was with my mom wearing my Ozil jersey. She must have said 3 times, “Just look at that name!”, “It’s such a strange name!”, “Can you imagine if that was your last name?” (to which I quickly replied, Why yes… yes I can! hahaha) This was coming from a woman whose married name (and the name I grew up with) is 10 letters long, very Eastern European in nature, and one that no one can ever pronounce! I just couldn’t understand why she had an issue with it… so I chalked it up to her age and a lack of exposure. But my point being, I don’t think anyone in my family of my generation would think or say something like this simply because it wouldn’t BE something we’d find “strange”.
And last thing… Sadly, I don’t wonder if looks play a part in this. He LOOKS Turkish (obviously). He does not LOOK “typical” German. This kills me because we’ve dealt with this in my own family (my hubby is Hispanic and very dark). But some people just can’t seem to accept others who “look” different. Anyways, the twitter account should be disabled, and I’m proud of Mesut for taking a stand on this.

[mesutcanada.livejournal.com]

Racism is all about fear. People are afraid of different cultures and think it will somehow threaten their own culture. If people just took the time to know individuals from other cultures they would see that they are just normal people living their lives and there's nothing to be afraid of.

Although the racism against Ozil infuriates me, the cultural debate about him is actually one of the things I found initially intriguing about him. It's just one of the many things that makes Mesut an interesting, intriguing and complex public personality. Too bad that some people use it against him instead of for him, like I do.

[die4shin-sin.livejournal.com]

Wow I come here to ask whether it's true or not and there's this post! (Should've checked earlier) Why is he being Turkish should be a problem for anyone while he's fighting for the pride of his country? I just can't understand racism at all. Just burn, baby, burn.

Go, Oezil family, go, fight, win!