OpinionMesut Ozil treatment proves Trevor Noah’s Fifa World Cup point about football masking racism towards immigrants
Germany star quits national team saying ‘I’m German when we win, but I’m an immigrant when we lose’, echoing Daily Show host’s thoughts on France squad
It won’t have been of any comfort to The Daily Show host Trevor Noah to see Mesut Ozil quit the Germany national team – but it may have provided a bit of vindication.
The South African comedian came under fire from French fans and even the country’s ambassador to the United States, Gerard Araud, after joking “Africa won the World Cup” last week.
Of the 23-man France squad that triumphed in Russia, 16 players have African heritage, and Noah quipped “they couldn’t get this suntan in the south of France” – something Araud countered was “the argument of the white supremacist”.
Noah gave a passionate defence of his remarks on a “Between the Scenes” segment of his late-night US television programme.
“This is what I find interesting, it’s like, when I read stories from Africa and I watch what politicians say about African migrants when they are unemployed, when they may commit a crime, or when they’re considered unsavoury, they are ‘African immigrants’,” Noah said.
“When their children go on to provide a World Cup victory for France, we should only refer to it as France.”