Toni Kroos Calls Mesut Ozil's Racism Claims 'Nonsense' After Germany Retirement

Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has called Mesut Ozil's allegations of racism within the German Football Association "nonsense" after his compatriot quit the national team in controversial circumstances in July.

Arsenal star Ozil cited "racism and disrespect" as the main factors behind his decision to retire from international duty after the disastrous 2018 FIFA World Cup, where defending champions Germany exited at the group stage. However, Kroos dismissed Ozil's allegations in an interview with Bild (h/t BBC Sport): 

"Mesut is a deserved international and as a player he deserved a better departure.

"But the way he resigned was not in order.

"The parts in his statement that are rightly addressed are unfortunately overshadowed by the significantly higher amount of nonsense.

"I think he knows very well that racism within the national team and the DFB [German football's governing body] does not exist."

Ozil—who is of Turkish descent—was widely criticized after a photo emerged in May of him alongside controversial Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, as well as Manchester City's Ilkay Gundogan and Everton's Cenk Tosun. 

Goal's Ronan Murphy provided further quotes from Kroos' interview, where he went on to say Ozil was rightly condemned for his photo with Erdogan and that players expect to face harsh criticism at times:

In his retirement announcement, the 29-year-old said he felt he was "German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose."

In Russia, Ozil played no part in Germany's only win of the tournament—a 2-1 comeback victory over Sweden—but played every minute of their defeats to Mexico and South Korea.

At the time of Ozil's retirement and statement, journalist Raphael Honigstein appeared on BBC 5 Live Sport and gave some context behind Germany's friction with Erdogan. He also suggested the DFB could have done better to support their player:

The DFB released a statement in July dismissing Ozil's accusations of racism in the governing body, but it added it was "regrettable that Mesut Ozil felt that he had not been sufficiently protected as a target of racist slogans," per BBC Sport.

BBC News reported minorities in Germany were using #MeTwo on Twitter to voice their experiences of discrimination. Journalist Bojan Pancevski provided quotes from one citizen from Turkey:

Ozil wrote in his retirement statement that he could return to the national team's fold if he felt there was no longer discrimination in the organisation.