Orkan Erdem (1985-2018) was a Turkish-German footballer. He was murdered the night before Germany's World Cup qualifying match in 2018, sparking a public uproar and an outbreak of underworld violence.
Biography[]
Orkan Erdem was born in Berlin, Germany in 1985 to a family of Turkish descent; he was the son of Enfal Erdem and the brother of Pusat Erdem. He was raised in the working-class Marzahn borough, and he became a star footballer, playing for Manchester United FC and the German national team. On the night before the 2018 qualifying match for the World Cup, between Germany and Turkey, Erdem was murdered by his neighbor Albert Meiser, who was angry at Erdem for allowing his dog to defecate on his lawn. Erdem's body, located in a front garden in Marzahn, was discovered by the police officers Hauke Wachtmeister and Alina Petrović. Police investigated local neo-Nazis, the Arab Mafia, Turkish nationalists, football fans, and the Berlin Mafia for their potential roles in their murder, while the news of Erdem's death heightened ethnic and religious tensions in Berlin. Policeman Kurt Grimmer discovered Meiser's guilt, but he and policeman Erol Birkan decided to pin his death on Berlin's gangs in order to shut them down.
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