Granit Xhaka admits to receiving fake Covid vaccination certificate in 2022
Quick summary
Granit Xhaka has publicly admitted to obtaining a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate in 2022, confirming a long-rumoured personal conduct issue.
Full article
Attributed to original sourceSunderland captain withdrawn from Switzerland squad
He will be questioned by prosecutor’s office in Lucerne
Granit Xhaka has been withdrawn from Switzerland’s squad after he admitted receiving a fake Covid vaccination certificate in 2022. The Sunderland and Switzerland captain – who was an Arsenal player at the time – has apologised for this “mistake” and will sit out his country’s forthcoming four Nations League matches.
Xhaka is poised to be questioned by the prosecutor’s office in Lucerne next week as it decides whether any criminal proceedings will be initiated regarding the alleged issue of a series of false Covid certificates by a doctor based in the Swiss city during the pandemic. The doctor, who was first investigated in 2023, has denied the allegations.
Continue reading...
Source attribution: this article content is based on the linked publisher feed/source. Chance adds independent soccer context, impact analysis, entity links, and related news.
What happened
Sunderland and Switzerland midfielder Granit Xhaka has confessed to using a fraudulent COVID-19 vaccination certificate in 2022, during his previous spell at the club. The admission confirms a story that had circulated for years and places renewed scrutiny on the player's personal conduct. The revelation could trigger disciplinary review by his current employers and national federation, while reigniting a broader conversation about vaccine-certificate fraud in elite sport during the pandemic era.
Chance analysis
Granit Xhaka's public admission that he obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate in 2022 is significant not for any on-pitch consequence but for the reputational and disciplinary questions it raises. Coming years after the alleged act, the confession closes a long-running rumour cycle but opens a fresh one around accountability and integrity in elite football. Sunderland and the Swiss FA will now have to decide whether the two-year-old offence warrants retrospective action, a decision that will set a tone for how the sport treats pandemic-era infractions disclosed long after the fact.
Xhaka faces potential disciplinary scrutiny from Sunderland and the Swiss FA following his admission, which could affect his standing and selection for upcoming fixtures.