Erdogan acts as witness at Mesut Ozil's wedding

By Kaan Bozdogan

ANKARA (AA) - Turkish–German striker Mesut Ozil tied the knot with Amine Gulse on Friday in Istanbul.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and First Lady Emine Erdogan served as marriage witnesses at the football star's wedding.

Many statesmen and prominent figures attended the wedding in Istanbul.

Erdogans wished the couple a long and happy marriage.

Ozil and his model wife Gulse, who was crowned Miss Turkey in 2014, also made a hefty donation to the Turkish Red Crescent (Kizilay) to be spent on war victims and refugees.

The aid organization used the donation to provide dinner to some 15,000 Syrian refugees and Bayirbucak Turkmen from northern Syria.

Turkish Red Crescent's Syria field manager Fatih Kokcan thanked the newly weds for their generosity and mercy.

Ozil who plays for Arsenal quit the German national team in July 2018, citing racial discrimination.

He said the German Football Association head Reinhard Grindel failed to support him when he received hate mails, threatening phone calls, and racist comments on social media.

Grindel later admitted that he had not been supportive enough.

Without Ozil, Germany started their UEFA Nations League journey with three consecutive bad results. They drew with France 0-0 at home, defeated by Netherlands 3-0 and lost to France 2-1 in an away match.

Germany also lost six of their last ten matches and relegated to League B in the UEFA Nations League.