German Football Federation (DFB) vice-president Reinhard Rauball has stated that Mesut Ozil’s retirement from the Germany national team has sparked an ‘unprecedented‘ reaction.

Ozil’s turbulent summer began after he posed for a photo with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Things went from bad to worse after Germany crashed out of the 2018 World Cup in the group stages prompting ex-Germany international’s and pundits to take swipes at the Arsenal playmaker.

Ozil subsequently retired from international football via a statement released to Twitter citing racism and discrimination.

Rauball admitted that the Arsenal midfielders retirement has had a far greater fallout than anything seen before.

“The topic has reached a magnitude that is unprecedented. Even the Bundesliga [match-fixing] scandal in the early 1970s did not make such waves,” Rauball told Bild am Sonntag.

“I do not communicate via Twitter, Facebook or Instagram and on this issue, I have to say that I would prefer a more conservative form of communication, such as a face-to-face conversation.”

Rauball went onto state that he is a fan of Ozil and that he has come to know him as a very modest man.

The DFB vice-president also hopes that he will be able to meet Ozil in the future for a personal conversation.

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Rauball also told Bild: “I’ve been part of the national team’s delegation for 11 years and I’ve probably seen almost every single one of Mesut’s 92 international appearances.

“I’ve come to know him as a very modest man who was very popular with the team and could have fun with them.

“I would be happy if we met again, perhaps after a little time, for a personal conversation.”