'F*** you, Taliban': Germany fans at World Cup hurl abuse at Mesut Ozil poster holders

German fans reportedly racially abused attendees of the Germany v Costa Rica game on Thursday as they held posters of Mesut Ozil, a former Germany national team player who quit in 2018 after becoming a target of racist abuse.

In video widely shared on social media, match attendees, apparently Qataris, held up posters of Ozil and jeered at dejected German fans leaving the Al-Bayt stadium after Germany were knocked out of the tournament.

One German fan can be allegedly heard yelling "F*** you, Taliban" in response, before jumping to rip a poster from the hands of one of fans.

Another German squared up to a man holding a poster yelling "Where are you from?" while yanking the image of Ozil out of his hands.

The protest was a repeat of the one seen last week at the Germany v Spain match, when fans, some Qatari, covered their mouths and held up images of Ozil.

This appeared to be in response to a similar gesture by Germany players during the first match of the tournament when they covered their mouths to protest against FIFA's clampdown on the pro-LGBTQ "One Love" armband.

Ozil quit the national team after becoming a target of racist abuse and a scapegoat for Germany’s early World Cup exit in 2018.

The footballer, born in Germany but of Turkish descent, accused the German football federation, fans and media of racism in their treatment of people with Turkish roots.

He also repeatedly condemned China for its genocide of the Uyghurs, a minority Muslim group in the country.

He has in turn been criticised by some for his close ties to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, whose government is accused of a number of human rights violations.

Thanks to their loss to Costa Rica, Germany have been knocked out in the group stages of the World Cup twice in a row.