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4 Feb, 2020 18:35

'We're going to kill Mesut Ozil and kill you': Security guards claim CHILLING threats made against Arsenal midfielder and mother

'We're going to kill Mesut Ozil and kill you': Security guards claim CHILLING threats made against Arsenal midfielder and mother

Two men said they would kill Mesut Ozil and his security guard and threatened to "f*** Mesut’s mother” in an after-dark murder threat made as part of three repeat visits to the World Cup winner’s home in August, a court has heard.

Salaman Ekinci and Ferhat Ercun are accused of abusive behaviour at the Arsenal midfielder’s £9 million home, where they are alleged to have repeatedly returned on August 8 before being detained by guards and arrested.

Speaking to judges at Highbury Corner Magistrates' Court on Tuesday, security guard Kemil Sezer recalled seeing two men at around 7.30pm on the night of the incident.

Recounting their reappearance around three hours later, after night had fallen, Sezer said: "They swore in Turkish, saying 'f*** your mothers, we're going to f*** Mesut's mother and we're going to come back in five minutes, and if security don't go from here, we're going to kill Mesut Ozil and kill you.’”

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Sezer was assisted by a Turkish interpreter as he remembered feeling “stressed” and giving chase to the pair, only to have to call police when they made a third appearance after midnight.

“We got angry because Mesut Ozil, about two to three weeks prior, was attacked,” he pointed out. “We feared that the same thing would happen.

“Mesut Ozil is loved by the Turkish people. We have that responsibility on us to protect him."

Ozil, who was not at the hearing, is of Turkish heritage and lifted the World Cup trophy with Germany in 2014.

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Prosecutors said the 27-year-old defendants had denied using the language or having a conversation when they were interviewed, but had claimed they were attacked by the guards.

In his defense outline, Johan Grefstad indicated that Ercun will say in evidence that he was hit in the head with a baseball bat.

Sezer, who is a trained dog specialist and former soldier, replied: “We don’t carry baseball bats. I’ve trained to do my job and I don’t need any baseball bats and I don’t carry them.”

Ekinci and Ercun deny one count of using threatening, abusive or insulting words or behaviour to cause harassment, alarm or distress.

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Just weeks earlier, Ozil and Arsenal teammate Sead Kolasinac were ambushed by muggers on mopeds as part of a car-jacking attempt to steal their £200,000 watches in an unrelated incident.

Ozil and Kolasinac missed the Premier League side’s opening match of the season a few days later, and the midfielder was reported to have stepped up 24-hour security outside his home.

The trial has been adjourned part-heard until April 21.

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