There’s something wrong when a German football star like Mesut Ozil no longer feels wanted by his country. The Arsenal man announced his international retirement citing “disrespect and racism” within German football in a three-part statement after criticism of the midfielder’s World Cup performance and a pre-tournament meeting with Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Ozil says he received hate mail and threats after Germany's exit at the group stage of this summer's World Cup in Russia.

Ozil feels he is being penalized for his pride in Turkey, the nation of his heritage, and by Germany, the nation of his citizenship. Taking a picture with Erdogan was interpreted by many as not only support for Erdogan, especially because the elections in Turkey were right around the corner, but a confession of loving Turkey more than Germany while playing for the German national team.

Ozil, a third-generation Turkish-German, is being criticized for showing pride in his Turkish roots. But why should people of a different history have to deny their national heritage? About half a century ago, Ozil’s family left Turkey and came to Germany as guest workers after a labor shortage. European countries didn’t let migrants in out of their good heart. They needed people to rebuild their countries, offering in return low wages and poor living conditions. The descendants of those workers are still feeling the racism, prejudice and disenfranchise that resulted. There long-term presence country was never fully accepted.

It’s part of a belief that somehow Germany did Turks a favor by letting them enter Germany, with their brown faces and strange faiths and for which they should be forever grateful. They are labeled “immigrants” or, if they’re born in Germany, “second generation immigrants”. This is a way of distinguishing between white “indigenous” and non-white descendants of immigrants.

Still, there are no outright hostilities in general. People of Turkish heritage have been living in peace in Germany for generations. But Ozil’s decision to step down from the Germany national team has triggered a debate about racism in general and about football's capabilities for integration in particular. It’s not just Ozil. All diaspora footballers face the same conflict, as illustrated by the row over the South African comedian Trevor Noah’s description of France’s World Cup triumph as a victory for the African continent — since that’s where 15 players are descended from. Noah argued against the notion that “in order to be French, you have to do away with what makes you African. Why can't they be both?”

Chancellor Angela Merkel has said she respected Ozil’s decision to quit international football, saying she valued Ozil highly and is a footballer who has contributed a great deal to the national team. Ozil was a World Cup winner in 2014, capped 92 times by his country, and at 29 is just about the best German player at present.

But there is certainly some naivety on Ozil's part if he did not appreciate what the consequences of his photo-op with Erdogan might be. After Germany’s worst World Cup in 80 years, Ozil — among others — was scapegoated by politicians from the country's far right, keen to reap political capital from a footballing failure.

The problem Germans have with Ozil seems to be more about his statement of cultural allegiance with the Turkish nation. Some of the children of Turkish ancestors in Germany feel an emotional attachment to Turkey (“I have two hearts”, Ozil has said). Many of them are actually growing closer to their countries of heritage, despite having never lived there. Yet Germany has decided that dual allegiances are no longer appropriate. As Ozil said: “I am German when we win, but I am an immigrant when we lose”.

Minorities can have more than one identity — and be patriotic to both.