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'It's extremely sad' - Rudiger defends Ozil from constant criticism

The Chelsea defender backed up the Arsenal star amid the ongoing criticism following his retirement from international football

Antonio Rudiger says the reaction to Mesut Ozil's retirement from Germany is "extremely sad" and pointed out that the midfielder is being criticised for comments he did not make.

After Germany crashed out of the World Cup at the group stage, Ozil was accused of affecting their performances after he and Ilkay Gundogan were pictured posing alongside Turkey's controversial president Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The midfielder was urged to explain the image by DFB president Reinhard Grindel among many others and he responded by defending himself and then announcing his retirement from the national team.