Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in the wedding party as Arsenal midfielder Mesut Ozil tied the knot on Friday.
State-run Anadolu news agency said Erdogan and his wife, Emine, were legal witnesses for Ozil, who married model, actress and former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse in Istanbul. Secular Turkish weddings require a witness each for the bride and groom.
Ozil, a German player of Turkish descent, quit Germany's soccer team last year after he was criticized for posing for a photograph with Erdogan before the World Cup.
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, second right, Turkish-German soccer player Mesut Ozil, center, his wife Amine Gulse, second left, Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan and Istanbul Governor and temporary mayor Ali Yerlikaya pose for a photo during a wedding ceremony over the Bosporus in Istanbul, Friday, June 7, 2019.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)
In his international retirement announcement, Ozil accused the German football federation, its president, fans, and media for what he saw as racism in how it treated people with Turkish roots. Erdogan supported Ozil, saying his treatment was unacceptable after a stellar career for Germany.
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Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks to Turkish-German soccer star Mesut Ozil and his wife Amine Gulse during a wedding ceremony over the Bosporus in Istanbul, Friday, June 7, 2019. Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan is at right and Istanbul Governor and temporary mayor Ali Yerlikaya, left.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)
Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, center right, Turkish-German soccer player Mesut Ozil, centre, his wife Amine Gulse, center left, Erdogan's wife Emine Erdogan pose for a photo with family members of newly wed couple during a wedding ceremony over the Bosporus in Istanbul, Friday, June 7, 2019.(Presidential Press Service via AP, Pool)
CHERNIHIV, Ukraine (AP) — Ukraine’s historic Chernihiv biathlon and cross-country training center, which produced the country’s first Olympic medalist, remains in ruins after Russia’s 2022 invasion. Despite bombed-out buildings and constant air-raid threats, children and Olympic hopefuls continue to train on its damaged ski tracks.
This is a photo gallery curated by AP photo editors.
A cross memorialises Ukrainian defenders outside the destroyed ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathletes Yekateryna Mashtalier, 18, Mykola Dorofeiev, 16, Maksym Kravchenko, 17, and Nazar Kravchenko, 12, run during a training session at the ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathlon coach Mykola Vorchak, 60, speaks during an interview with The Associated Press in the Chernihiv, Ukraine ski base, which was destroyed following Russian attacks in 2022, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathletes Yekateryna Mashtalier, 18, Mykola Dorofeiev, 16, Maksym Kravchenko, 17, and Nazar Kravchenko, 12, walk through a dark hallway during a blackout at their mobile gym outside the destroyed ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A biathlete trains at the ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathlete Nazar Kravchenko, 12, trains at the ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathlete Yekateryna Mashtalier, 18, runs during a training session at the ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A young biathlete trains outside the destroyed ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A 2001 Biathlon World Championships brochure lays in the rubble of the Chernihiv, Ukraine ski base, which was destroyed following Russian attacks in 2022, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A steel shooting target is peppered with gunshot holes at the ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Retired biathlete and deputy Minister of Youth and Sports of Ukraine Nina Lemesh poses for photos outside the destroyed ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
A young biathlete trains outside the destroyed ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathletes Yekateryna Mashtalier, 18, Mykola Dorofeiev, 16, Maksym Kravchenko, 17, and Nazar Kravchenko, 12, warm up before a training session at the ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
Biathlete Khrystyna Dmytrenko poses for photos inside the destroyed ski base in Chernihiv, Ukraine, Thursday, Oct. 30, 2025. (AP Photo/Julia Demaree Nikhinson)
