It wasn't a night to remember for Ilkay Gundogan. The German midfielder found himself being booed every time he touched the ball in the friendly against Saudi Arabia on Friday.
But why? Well, the Manchester City midfielder recently referred to Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan as 'my president' when meeting him.
The player, who was actually being born in Germany, has Turkish heritage, so this incident has upset some supporters, as you can see in the clip above.
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Gundogan replaced Marco Reus in the second half and this jeers certinaly grabbed the headlines, despite a relatively comfortable 2-1 over their opponents.
Days after the friendly, the former Borussia Dortmund midfielder has finally broken his silence over the boo boys.
When asked if he was surprised by the backlash, he said the following:
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"Some reactions touched me, including personal attacks. In recent years we have done a lot to promote integration in Germany." he told France Football.
"We do not only have a Turkish side, inherited from our parents and our families. We were born and raised in Gelsenkirchen. It is a city with a high percentage of immigrants. That's why I was very shocked to hear that we were not integrated and that we did not want to live according to German values."
"Obviously it's something. We are used to the whistles of the opposing fans, but when we are booed by his own fans, it's hard to live with."
Speaking to ARD, Germany manager Joachim Loew called on fans to stop booing saying:
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"The fact a national player is booed like that helps nobody. What should Ilkay do now?
"He took a picture, okay, but he has addressed it with the press and underlined his support for German values. The topic has to be ticked off."
Thoughts on the situation?
Let us know in the comments.
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Topics: Football News, Football, Turkey, Ilkay Gundogan, Germany, World Cup
