Mesut Ozil appears to share incendiary map of Israel with the country’s name crossed out and replaced with Palestine on social media ‘before deleting controversial post’

Mesut Ozil seemingly refuted the existence of the state of Israel in a controversial social media post, according to reports from Germany.

The former Arsenal player has been a vocal advocate for Palestine and, in October, urged for an end to the ongoing conflict in Gaza through a message that conveyed his wishes to ‘pray for humanity’ and ‘pray for peace’.

The 35-year-old has continued to use his presence on X (previously Twitter) and Instagram to highlight the continuing war, often incorporating the hashtag ‘Free Palestine’ in his messages.

However, as reported by BILD, Ozil’s alleged Instagram story on Wednesday ignited further controversy in his home country before it was quickly removed.

The ex-Real Madrid midfielder reportedly posted an image of a map of Israel with its name crossed out in red, replaced by ‘Palestine’ clearly emphasized beneath.

Mesut Ozil appeared to post a now-deleted map showing Israel’s name crossed out and replaced with Palestine

The former player has previously pledged his support to Palestine in Instagram and X posts

The 35-year-old retired from football in March 2023 after featuring at clubs including Arsenal

The German media accused the retired athlete of advocating for ‘the annihilation of the Jewish state’ following the deleted post, while CDU politician Julia Klockner demanded on X that the former Germany international return his ‘Federal Cross of Merit’ – a medal which Ozil has never held.

Klockner later clarified that she intended to refer to the Silver Laurel Leaf, Germany’s most prestigious sporting award, given to the 2010 World Cup-winning team after their triumph in South Africa.

Mail Sport has reached out to Ozil’s representatives for a response.

Alon Meyer, president of Maccabi Germany – a Jewish sports association – condemned Ozil’s alleged post as ‘anti-Israeli’ and called for a reaction from the German football federation.

‘Of course, we hope that the DfB will also react to this, and publicly distance itself from Ozil,’ Meyer stated in a press release on Wednesday.

As a member of Germany’s 2010 World Cup-winning squad, Ozil was awarded the Silver Laurel Leaf that year

Ozil (right) previously attracted controversy over a tattoo which appeared to reference far-right extremist group the Grey Wolves

Ozil, who hung up his boots in March 2023, has not played for his country since 2018, claiming he faced ‘racism and disrespect’ due to his Turkish roots.

The player faced backlash in Germany over a photograph taken in that year with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was later his best man at Ozil’s 2019 wedding.

Last year, Ozil was accused of endorsing the far-right Turkish nationalist group, the Grey Wolves after displaying a tattoo of a howling wolf and three crescent moons in a social media post.

Christian Social Union General Secretary Martin Huber referred to the former player as ‘a prime example of failed integration’ regarding his alleged allegiance to the extremist group, and criticized Wednesday’s ‘inconceivable, unbelievable’ pro-Palestine post.