Mesut Ozil has been criticised by a right-wing political party in Germany for his recent trip to Mecca.

The playmaker is a devout Muslim and recently went on his pilgrimage to Mecca, something all followers of Islam are encouraged to do. However, the right-wing party, know as Alternative for Germany (AfD) claims that this was anti-patriotic.

“When Ozil regularly doesn’t sing along to the national anthem, we are supposed to treat it as his own private matter,” head of the party, Andrea Kersten, babbled.

“But when he goes on pilgrimage to Mecca Tagesspiegel, a left-leaning daily newspaper, tells people it is ‘a sign for more understanding and integration.'”

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Why the 27-year-old’s faith, which he’s never tried to conceal and has always seemed proud of, should affect his ability to love his country is beyond most rational-minded people. It’s a shame that such a kind, gentle human being who spends a large portion of his free time helping charities or interacting with his fans, is so misunderstood, simply because of his religion.

Hopefully, if Mesut has heard about these comments, he neither cares or knows that AfD are in the minority. The vast majority of Germany fans worship the ground he walks – or dribbles – on (although that sounds a bit gross). And rightly so.