sport.wikisort.org - Athlete

Deniz Naki (born 9 July 1989) is a German former professional footballer of Kurdish origin who played as an attacking midfielder.[1]

Deniz Naki

Naki in 2012
Personal information
Full name	Hindreen Deniz Naki
Date of birth	(1989-07-09) 9 July 1989 (age 33)
Place of birth	Düren, West Germany
Height	1.67 m (5 ft 6 in)
Position(s)	Attacking midfielder
Youth career
2001–2003	FC Düren 77
2003–2005	FC Düren-Niederau
2005–2007	Bayer Leverkusen
Senior career*
Years	Team	Apps	(Gls)
2007–2009	Bayer Leverkusen II	36	(7)
2009	→ Rot Weiss Ahlen (loan)	11	(4)
2009–2012	FC St. Pauli	71	(12)
2011	FC St. Pauli II	1	(1)
2012–2013	SC Paderborn	23	(2)
2013–2014	Gençlerbirliği	21	(0)
2015–2018	Amed S.K.	58	(28)
Total		231	(54)
National team
2007–2008	Germany U19	15	(9)
2008–2009	Germany U20	6	(3)
*Club domestic league appearances and goals

Club career

Naki began his football career at Bayer 04 Leverkusen, but could never make it past its reserves.

On 2 February 2009, he was loaned to Rot Weiss Ahlen, playing eleven games and scoring four goals in his short spell. On 8 February, he made his professional debut in the second division, coming on as a 79th-minute substitute for Marco Reus in a match against FC Augsburg.[2]

On 25 June 2009, Naki left Bayer Leverkusen and signed a three-year contract with FC St. Pauli at the Millerntor-Stadion. He caused controversy on 2 November when, after scoring his team's second goal away at rivals FC Hansa Rostock (2–0 win), he celebrated with a 'cut-throat' gesture towards the opposing fans.[3] He helped with seven league goals as St. Pauli returned to the top level.

Following an unsuccessful trial at Nottingham Forest, Naki completed a move to SC Paderborn 07, signing a two-year contract with the 2. Bundesliga side in the summer of 2012.

On 5 November 2014, Naki decided to leave Gençlerbirliği after an alleged racist attack.[4][5] Naki said he was attacked on the street in the Turkish capital by three men shouting racist abuse and challenging him over his support for the Syrian-Kurdish town of Kobane, which is battling a siege by Islamic State (ISIS).[6][4] [1] [7]

In February 2016, Naki, playing for Amed SK, was suspended for 12 games and received a large fine after allegedly expressing support for the PKK, in the Kurdish-Turkish conflict. He had written on his personal Facebook page that he dedicated the victory, a win over Bursaspor in the Turkish Cup, to those killed and wounded "under the oppression that has gone on for 50 days in our land," referring to the imposed curfews in numerous Turkish towns with large groups of Kurdish ethnicity.[8]

In October 2016, Naki was charged with ‘promoting terrorist propaganda’ by a Turkish court on the basis of social media posts. According to writer Patrick Keddie, "In November 2016, a court acquitted Naki of all charges, but the prosecution appealed and in April 2017 he was given an 18-month suspended prison sentence – putting him on probation for five years."[9]

International career

As a member of the Germany U-19 team, Naki represented the nation at the 2008 UEFA European Under-19 Football Championship, played in the Czech Republic.

Personal incidents

In January 2018, shots were fired at his car on Bundesautobahn 4 near his hometown, Düren.[10] In March 2018, Deniz Naki started a hunger strike in front of the UN building in Geneva, in protest against Operation Olive Branch by Turkish Armed Forces.[11]

On 26 July 2018, Naki published a letter in which he called Mesut Özil to take actions against racism in Turkey:

In your statement, you are justified in responding the racism you have encountered and your reasons for leaving the national team, But why you are not showing this response when there are more and more racist and fascist attacks in Turkey on me, and on other Kurdish-background or minority footballers? You are saying that the statements of the DFB are wrong. In Turkey, the career of a football player was ended. A peace-supporting human was branded a terrorist. What is your reaction to this?

People died. To prevent people from dying, I have called several times for peace, They were Kurdish children, mother, and youth that died, Kurdish cities that were destroyed. I didn't want people to die, I want them to live. Those who will welcome you with open arms in your next trip to Turkey, are the same persons, who carried out racists attacks against me. There should be no distinction between fascists, they are the same, in every country.

For these reasons, I am calling on you, to not only fight against fascism and racism in Germany, but racism of any kind in the world. I call on you to observe racism against Kurds in Turkey, and to also fight this.

— [12]

Özil had previously criticized the German Football Association for the lack of support after racist hostilities against him related to his photos with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, in which he retired from playing for the Germany national team, and had also defended his photos with Erdoğan as being unpolitical.[13]

Career statistics

As of 1 July 2018

Appearances and goals by club, season and competition

Club	Season	League			Cup		Continental		Other		Total
		Division	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals	Apps	Goals
Bayer Leverkusen II	2008–09[14]	Oberliga Nordrhein	25	5	1	0	–		0	0	26	5
	2009–10[14]	Regionalliga West	11	2	0	0	–		0	0	11	2
	Total		36	7	1	0	0	0	0	0	37	7
Rot Weiss Ahlen (loan)	2008–09[14]	2. Bundesliga	11	4	0	0	–		0	0	11	4
FC St. Pauli	2009–10[14]	2. Bundesliga	30	7	2	2	–		0	0	32	9
	2010–11[14]	Bundesliga	20	1	1	0	–		0	0	21	1
	2011–12[14]	2. Bundesliga	21	4	0	0	–		0	0	21	4
	Total		71	12	3	2	0	0	0	0	74	14
FC St. Pauli II	2011–12[14]	Regionalliga Nord	1	1	0	0	–		0	0	1	1
SC Paderborn	2012–13[14]	2. Bundesliga	23	2	0	0	–		0	0	23	2
Gençlerbirliği	2013–14[15]	Süper Lig	16	0	3	1	0	0	0	0	19	1
	2014–15[15]	Süper Lig	5	0	1	0	0	0	0	0	6	0
	Total		21	0	4	1	0	0	0	0	25	1
Amed S.K.	2015–16[15]	TFF First League	18	4	9	3	–		0	0	27	7
	2016–17[15]	TFF First League	28	16	4	2	–		0	0	32	18
	2017–18[15]	TFF First League	12	8	2	1	–		0	0	14	9
	Total		58	28	15	6	0	0	0	0	73	34
Career total			231	54	23	9	0	0	0	0	254	63

References

External links

• Deniz Naki – UEFA competition record (archive)
• Deniz Naki at fussballdaten.de (in German)
• Deniz Naki at Soccerway

На других языках

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[de] Deniz Naki

Deniz Naki (* 9. Juli 1989 in Düren) ist ein ehemaliger deutscher Fußballspieler.[1][2]

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- [en] Deniz Naki

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[fr] Deniz Naki

Deniz Naki est un footballeur allemand d'origine kurde, né le 9 juillet 1989 à Düren au Allemagne. Il évolue comme attaquant. Après avoir évolué successivement en Allemagne et en Turquie, il a été suspendu à vie par la Fédération Turque de Football pour "discrimination et propagande idéologique"[2], à la suite de ses dénonciations répétées des persécutions l'égard de la population kurde[3].

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[it] Deniz Naki

Deniz Naki (Düren, 9 luglio 1989) è un calciatore tedesco, di ruolo attaccante dell'Amedspor.

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[ru] Наки, Дениз

Дениз Наки (нем. Deniz Naki; 9 июля 1989, Дюрен) — немецкий футболист, полузащитник.

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