Jurgen Klopp Calls Mesut Ozil, Ilkay Gundogan Criticism 'Hypocritical'

Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp has hit out at the critics of Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan, telling reporters the flak they have taken after posing for a photo with Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is hypocritical. 

Speaking to Sport 1 (h/t Goal's Iain Strachan), the tactician took aim at those who dismissed Ozil's concerns following the incident. In the playmaker's retirement from the Germany national team, he cited discrimination against him due to his Turkish heritage. Klopp did not doubt Ozil and Gundogan's love for their country, however:

"This is a classic example of absolute misinformation and, of course, complete nonsense.

In politics, little things have always been blown up and big things pushed away in order to continue.

"Normally, intelligent people tend to hold back because it is not easy to say the right thing. I would count myself [among those people] too. All those who have no idea are very loud in these conversations.

"I do not doubt these guys, at least about their loyalty to our homeland. The difference is that they just have one more thing [in their heritage]. Where is the problem? That's beautiful. 

"Cultural diversity, we all thought it was really cool around the 2006 World Cup. I saw these fantastic commercials where the parents of Gerald Asamoah and Mario Gomez had a barbecue party together. 

"And now two guys are seduced by politically quite intelligent people to have a photo, and then have relatively few opportunities to say what they want 100 per cent right. 

"That's why I find this discussion hypocritical. Bad things happened because people were not informed properly. Even the media should not create a buzz around something like this every day. Just cool off and see the people behind it."

The criticism of the DFB and accusations of racism resulted in a strong response, with many pointing back at the photo. Bayern Munich president Uli Hoeness was one of his fiercest critics, and his fury hasn't waned, as he launched his latest attack on the former Real Madrid man earlier this week, per Sky Germany (h/t the Evening Standard's Alex Young). 

Hoeness claimed manager Joachim Low would not have taken Ozil to Russia if he had scouted him a little more closely, as he would have noticed the player isn't as good as his image makes him out to be. Low continued to back Ozil, but after the tournament, he admitted the 29-year-old was among those who didn't live up to the expectations, per Metro.

Germany dropped their opening match against Mexico, before securing a last-minute win over Sweden that kept their hopes of advancing alive. Another shock loss followed against South Korea in their final match, leaving Die Mannschaft in last place in Group F.