A fitness trainer publishes photos of former world champion Mesut Özil on the internet. One detail is causing great outrage.

Photos of Mesut Özil, which are said to show the former football world champion with a wolf tattoo, are causing a stir on the internet. Because of the image, Özil is accused of showing right-wing extremist symbolism.

In the pictures, which the Turkish fitness trainer Alper Aksac published on Instagram on Saturday, a tattoo can be seen on Özil’s chest showing three crescent moons and a howling wolf – these are symbols of the “Grey Wolves”. The “Grey Wolves” are the supporters of the right-wing extremist “Ülkücü movement”, which is observed in Germany by the Office for the Protection of the Constitution.

Özil himself has so far not disseminated the photos and was approached for comment via an advisor. The 34-year-old’s verified Instagram account has added a “like” tag to Aksac’s post. It was not possible to independently clarify whether the image on Özil’s chest was a permanent tattoo.

Users reacted indignantly to the photos and accused Özil of racism, among other things. On his own Twitter profile, Özil continues to show a photo of himself with a bare chest and the World Cup trophy after triumphing with the German national team in Rio de Janeiro in 2014.

Resignation in 2018 after Erdogan photos

Along with the three crescents and the wolf, the so-called wolf salute formed with the hand is one of the best-known symbols of the “Ülkücü movement”. In Turkey, the ultra-nationalist MHP is its political representative and ally of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s AKP. Özil is an avowed supporter of Erdogan and most recently shared a photo with the Turkish president after his election victory at the end of May.

Özil resigned from the DFB team in July 2018 after the World Cup in Russia, where the defending champions were eliminated in the group stage. At the time, the affair surrounding controversial photos with Erdogan, for which the professional had to take a lot of criticism, also played a role. Özil spoke of “racism” at the time.