'Germany should have banished Ozil & Gundogan from World Cup'

Stefan Effenberg, who was excluded from the 1994 World Cup squad, believes that both the Arsenal and Manchester City stars should have been dropped

Former Germany international Stefan Effenberg believes that manager Joachim Low should have excluded both Mesut Ozil and Ilkay Gundogan from the national team ahead of the World Cup.

Both players were pictured with Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan last month, prompting a firestorm of controversy.

Erdogan has been criticised for alleged human rights violations, as well as for jailing journalists.

Ozil has remained quiet on the matter, while Gundogan was whistled by supporters prior to a friendly encounter with Saudi Arabia.

And Effenberg does not believe that the players should have been included in 's squad for the tournament in .

"If you bet on certain values, as the DFB repeatedly conveys, then the decision can only be made by throwing the two players out," said Effenberg.

Effenberg has experience of being excluded from the national team, being thrown out of the panel in 1994 after making an obscene gesture towards the supporters.

"Ozil and Gundogan have now been lucky that the DFB acted in this case in an inconsistent way, and not quickly."

Referring to Gundogan's experience against the Saudis, Effenberg added: "That's the worst thing that can happen to you, because you're asking yourself a lot of questions, like the value of wearing this jersey."

Germany are regarded as one of the favourites to win the World Cup, and will face , and in Group F.