ISTANBUL: Arsenal’s Mesut Ozil, a German footballer of Turkish origin, has made a generous donation to a Turkish charity during the month of Ramadan amid coronavirus crisis.
Amid Arsenal pay cut criticism, Ozil has made a donation of over £80,000 to Charity organisation Turkish Red Crescent that will provide food and aid for 16,000 Muslims throughout the fasting month of Ramadan.
“At the Red Crescent, we stand by those in need 365 days a year,” said Kerem Kinik, the head of the Turkish Red Crescent, as reported by the Daily Sabah.
“Of course, we do this thanks to donations made by philanthropist friends who follow our work. As donations increase, we will be able to reach even more people in need.”
“Thanks to our brother Mesut, we will be able to deliver packages provided to people in need – delivering them as soon as possible.”
A devout Muslim, Özil has been incredibly generous with his charity work and secretly pays for 1,000 kids’ to have life-changing surgery and feeds 100,000 homeless people.
Ozil, who earns £350,000 a week, sparked controversy by rejecting a pay cut recently after he refused to join his teammates in taking a 12.5% wage reduction during the coronavirus lockdown.
In December Last year, Ozil expressed support for Uighurs in Xinjiang and criticised Muslim countries for their failure to speak up for them.