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Three weeks after dismissing Mesut Ozil's claims of racism against the German Football Federation (DFB), Toni Kroos has once again rejected the same while also criticizing teammate Leroy Sane's body language.
Kroos criticised the attitude of international teammate Leroy Sané, claiming that his body language suggests that he does not care whether the national team wins or loses
Speaking to the media on Wednesday, Kroos said, “Sometimes you have the feeling with Leroy’s body language that it is all the same whether we win or lose. He has to improve his body language. He’s a player who has everything you need to be a world-class player but sometimes you have to tell him he has to perform better."
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The German star had previously hit out at former international team-mate Mesut Ozil for alleging that the DFB is dealing with underlying racism and termed his claims as "nonsense."
Arsenal man Ozil announced his retirement from international football in July at the age of 29 after having accused DFB president Reinhard Grindel of discrimination.
The German playmaker made the claims in a three-part letter in which he claimed to have been subjected to racist remarks following his controversial meeting with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in May and Germany's early exit from the World Cup this summer.
Ozil, who is of Turkish heritage, received heavy criticism especially from German fans, pundits and even the media. German football figures like Oliver Bierhoff and Ottmar Hitzfeld even suggested that he should not have been allowed to represent their country in Russia.
Since then, some of Ozil's former international teammates offered little support, evident when Kroos defended the DFB at the same press conference.
Speaking at the conference, Kroos said, "I think that it [the situation surrounding Ozil's claims] doesn't say anything about German football."
"Respectively, for years we have been proving the opposite of what has been said. This was an individual case, a special one to which I expressed my opinion about a few weeks ago. Particularly the racism charges against the DFB and the president, I can only refuse in my opinion."
"Everything that happened around it, in the stadiums or in other statements, I did not comment on, but only the accusations against the DFB and the president, which is part of the DFB."
"And this is absolutely to be rejected. In this form and harshness, it was not appropriate."
"I think we have proved the contrary for years, and we as a national team have been a role model for all society on how it [integration] can work. Players of every culture were welcome and [we] built together a team. That's all on this topic."
Fans have since taken to social media to voice their anger:
Germany will face France in the Nations League on Thursday, the team's first game since its exit from the group stage of the World Cup.
