Germany general manager Oliver Bierhoff has urged Germany fans to stop whistling Arsenal star Mesut Ozil and Manchester City midfielder Ilkay Gundogan ahead of the 2018 World Cup, in Leverkusen on Friday.
Both players were whistled in the previous friendly against Austria.
The German national team plays Saudi Arabia in a friendly tonight, Gundogan is expected to play while Ozil is likely to miss the game through injury.
“For all the irritation we have now, we are one team, also in Germany with our fans,” Bierhoff told reporters on Thursday.
“Sure, things took the wrong direction a bit. But we are now looking ahead. And that’s why I hope that everyone, even though maybe still annoyed, withholds their anger a bit.”
President of Turkey Recep Tayyip Erdogan was greeted by Premier League stars, Ozil, Gundogan and Everton striker Cenk Tosun in London last month.
Erdogan was handed shirts from the players respective clubs, Gundogan signed his shirt ‘my president’.
It is worth pointing out that both Ozil and Gundogan are of Turkish origin and eligible citizens in the country, as is Tosun who plays for Turkey.
All three players were born in Germany but Ozil and Gundogan represent their country of birth.
Ozil has kept quiet about the controversy while Gundogan addressed the issue earlier this week in a Germany media day.
“It’s still not over. You could all hear the whistles at us in the last match,” he said.
“It’s never nice. Not for me, not for my teammates. It’s not an easy situation to cope with.”
