Real Madrid's Ozil accuses Barca's David Villa of 'insulting Islam'

Real Madrid's playmaker Mesut Ozil accused Barcelona striker David Villa of 'insulting Islam,' triggering a scuffle in the final minutes of the Super Cup encounter between the two Spanish football giants, the kicker sports magazine said on Friday. The usually soft-spoken Ozil who is a German Muslim of Turkish descent, said he tried 'to defend his religion' during his melee with Villa. 'He (Villa) did insult Islam,' the German football superstar was quoted as saying. Villa and Ozil were both red-carded as result of the mass scuffle on the pitch at Barcelona's Nou Camp Stadium early Thursday. Ozil is a practicing Muslim who always recites the Holy Quran before games, according to German press reports. 'I always do that before I go out (on the pitch). I pray and my team-mates know that they cannot talk to me during this brief period.' A third generation Turkish-German, Ozil has become one of world's top football superstars following the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.