Ilkay Gundogan is currently away with the German national squad and following the controversy after he posed for a picture with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, there’s a danger he could get a bad reaction from the country’s fans.
Performing poorly at the World Cup isn’t going to help Germany’s players, including the Manchester City man, and Joachim Low has made a public statement asking for support before and during the match against World Cup winners France.
Germany’s Sporx quotes the national team manager as saying: “We see him as a very, very important player for us.
“I expect and appeal to the fans to put it aside, I hope you all support him.”
Low believes the controversy impacted the Manchester City player during the World Cup: “He could not retrieve his usual performance.”
When the Erdogan photographs were released and it all blew up in Germany, Gundogan put a statement out calming things and making it clear his heart beats for both the country he plays for and Turkey.
That helped him avoid the scrutiny Mesut Ozil received, and Low has said the midfielder couldn’t have done any more to put a lid on things.
