Mesut Özil added to Ukrainian Myrotvorets database

Former German international and 2014 World Cup winner Mesut Özil has been added to the Myrotvorets database, a Ukrainian non-governmental project that lists individuals deemed threats to the country's security.

The inclusion follows remarks made by Özil during a veterans football match in Istanbul between Istanbul Basaksehir and Zenit St. Petersburg. During the event, Özil criticized FIFA and UEFA for what he termed “double standards,” noting that Russian teams and national sides have been sanctioned and excluded from international competitions while Israeli teams continue to participate.

Operators of the Myrotvorets database have accused the 38-year-old former footballer of spreading Russian propaganda and supporting the military aggression against Ukraine. The organization has listed seven specific grounds against him, including the dissemination of Russian narratives and participation in information-propaganda campaigns. The database, which has published data on over 180,000 people, is described by some media outlets as a list of “enemies of Ukraine.”