Mesut Ozil appears to share incendiary map of Israel with the country's name crossed out and replaced with Palestine on social media 'before deleting controversial post'

Mesut Ozil appeared to deny the existence of the state of Israel in an incendiary post on social media, as per reports in Germany. 

The former Arsenal star has long been an outspoken supporter of Palestine and in October, called for an end to the roiling conflict in Gaza with a post that expressed his desire to 'pray for humanity' and 'pray for peace'. 

The 35-year-old has since used his platform on X (formerly Twitter) and Instagram to repeatedly draw attention to the ongoing war with a number of posts captioned with the hashtag 'Free Palestine'. 

But as per BILD, Ozil's reported Instagram story on Wednesday stoked more controversy in his native Germany - before its prompt deletion. 

The ex-Real Madrid midfielder is thought to have shared a picture of a map of Israel featuring a large red cross through the state's name, with the word 'Palestine' underlined in bold letters. 

The German outlet accused the retired footballer of calling for 'the destruction of the Jewish state' in response to the deleted post, while Christian Democratic Union politician Julia Klockner demanded on X that the former Germany international return his 'Federal Cross of Merit' - an award that Ozil has never received. 

Klockner later clarified that she had meant the Silver Laurel Leaf, Germany's highest sporting honour, which was awarded to the 2010 World Cup-winning German side after victory in South Africa. 

Mail Sport has contacted Ozil's representatives for comment.  

The president of Maccabi Germany - a Jewish sports association - Alon Meyer also decried Ozil's reported post as 'anti-Israeli', and requested a response from the German football federation. 

'Of course, we hope that the DfB will also react to this, and publicly distance itself from Ozil,' Meyer said in a statement on Wednesday. 

Ozil - who retired from professional football in March 2023 - has not represented his country internationally since 2018, citing 'racism and disrespect' he faced over his Turkish heritage. 

The player had attracted outcry in his homeland over a photo taken that year with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who later served as the best man at Ozil's 2019 wedding. 

Ozil was accused last year of supporting far-right Turkish nationalism organisation the Grey Wolves when he showed off a tattoo featuring a howling wolf and three crescent moons in a picture shared on social media. 

Christian Social Union General Secretary Martin Huber described the former player as 'a prime example of failed integration' over both his alleged support of the extremist group, and Wednesday's 'unspeakable, unbelievable' pro-Palestine post.