Atakan Karazor, who was born in Essen, was nominated for the Turkish national team for the first time. However, he did not make his debut, and this was apparently not only for sporting reasons.
Atakan Karazor, midfielder for VfB Stuttgart, was nominated for the Turkish national soccer team for the first time shortly after deciding against playing for the German national team. The captain of the Bundesliga club was in the squad for the Nations League matches against Montenegro (October 11) and Iceland (October 14).
The Essen-born player, who has both German and Turkish citizenship, had hoped to make his debut for Turkey during the international break. However, this was not to be, as the 28-year-old was forced to watch from the sidelines in both Turkey’s 1-0 win over Montenegro and their 4-2 victory over Iceland.
At first glance, it is surprising that Karazor was not even in the squad for the first game against the Balkan state. The reason given was “technical reasons.” The background to this could be, at least in part, the allegations of sexual assault dating back to 2022. At that time, Karazor spent several weeks in custody in Ibiza and was released on bail of €500,000. The investigation has been dragging on since then and no charges have been brought so far. The presumption of innocence applies.
As the issue of sexual violence is currently a hot topic in Turkey, the Karazor case from 2022 was also picked up by the media after national coach Vincenzo Montella nominated the VfB midfielder for the two international matches that have now been played. However, the Turkish association apparently got cold feet, at least that is the impression given by the way things unfolded.
On Monday evening in Reykjavik, Karazor was at least in the squad. However, he was not allowed to play in the 4-2 win against Iceland. That said, his non-selection can be justified on sporting grounds given the tight nature of the game, with Arda Güler and Kerem Aktürkoglu scoring the decisive goals for Turkey in the 88th minute and in stoppage time. Moreover, the VfB professional was not the only professional in the squad who did not see any playing time.
Nevertheless, the association’s handling of the matter raises questions, especially since Karazor could have “played his way into the squad” and, in theory, he could also play for the German national team. In addition, the Ibiza incident, which could have been the reason for his non-selection for the squad against Montenegro, happened more than two years ago. In Turkey, this discussion should not have come as a surprise to anyone. It is possible that VfB officials will contact the Turkish Football Federation (TFF) in the coming days to inquire about the background to this decision.