(CNN) Arsenal star Mesut Ozil was married Friday in Istanbul, with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his wife on hand as the legal witnesses.

The German 2014 World Cup winner married former Miss Turkey Amine Gulse in a ceremony at the luxurious Four Seasons hotel on the Bosphorus.

Ozil, who is third-generation Turkish-German, sparked controversy in his birth country in March when he announced Erdogan would be his legal witness.

The roles, reportedly required of one man and one woman for secular Turkish weddings, are often filled by people close to the couple.

German Chancellor Angela Merkel's chief of staff, Helge Braun, said the selection "makes one sad," the country's Bild newspaper reported shortly after the announcement

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