The background to the bizarre counter-propaganda with Mesut Özil

The World Cup in Qatar is probably the most politically controversial tournament in history - and now the host country is obviously encouraging spectators to engage in propaganda. This made for bizarre scenes on the fringes of Germany's game against Spain at Doha's Al Bait Stadium.

Apparently, this was intended to give the impression that different nations were making fun of the internationally acclaimed gesture by the German national team before the first group game against Japan. Manuel Neuer and Co. held their hands over their mouths last Wednesday during the obligatory team photo - in protest against Fifa's ban on the "One Love" captain's armband.

On Sunday, several spectators could be seen holding up photos of Mesut Özil in a camera-friendly manner. Some also presented caricatures in which the former Germany international can be seen squinting. There were very different spectators who attracted attention with these actions - some wore the thawb, the garment typical of Arab men, others Spanish jerseys, some also shirts of the German national team. Some of the "fans" covered their mouths.

The background to this strange action: it was obviously staged. “The posters were on a chair in front of our block. We should all take one and hold it up. I didn't understand that," said a spectator dressed as a Spain fan to "Bild." However, the man was not Spanish, but a worker from Bangladesh. It had already become known in the past few weeks that the Qataris were primarily encouraging guest workers living in the emirate to go to the stadium to create a good atmosphere in the stands. Some of them even get paid to do it.

By showing the Özil portraits, attention should be drawn to the supposed duplicity of the German players and the German Football Association (DFB). Özil resigned from the German national team in July 2018, a good month after the World Cup in Russia. There had previously been a controversy because the 2014 world champion, who is of Turkish descent, posed for a photo with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan before the tournament.

However, many of the "fans" who took part in the campaign on Sunday were not at all aware of this connection - as it later turned out. They assumed that Özil had been thrown out of the national team at the time because the DFB did not like its commitment to the Uyghurs.

The "dream wedding" between Mesut Özil and his "childhood love" Fenerbahce is divorced after just a year and a half. The contract, which ran until 2024, was terminated. Özil is now moving to the Erdogan club Basaksehir.

Source: SID

In fact, the midfielder had denounced the oppression of the Muslim minority in China on his social networks - but only in December 2019, almost a year and a half after his retirement from the national team. “Korans burned, mosques closed, Islamic schools banned. The Muslims are silent. Your voice will not be heard,” Özil wrote. Arsenal FC, his club at the time, then distanced themselves from Özil. The DFB, however, had nothing to do with it.

The controlled reaction to the protest of the German internationals shows that the "mouth-to-mouth gesture" by Neuer and Co. obviously struck a chord with the Qataris. However, the attempt at counter-propaganda turned out to be bizarre.

At the same time, it has also become clear that the ban on political messages during World Cup matches, to which the host country and Fifa are so keen, is not worth the paper it is written on. The Özil posters had obviously gotten into the stadium with the knowledge of the security forces.

The German team makes amends and fights for a deserved draw against Spain late in the game. As against Japan, Germany misses top-class chances. Then Joker will show you how it's done. The highlights in the video.

Source: ZDF