Covid controversy puts Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka under scrutiny

By BOBBY MANZI, FOOTBALL, 22 September 2026, fresh questions have emerged over the legitimacy of Granit Xhaka's Covid-19 vaccination certificate, which is dated 11 November 2022, just before Arsenal travelled to Switzerland and then played a Premier League match against Wolves.

Alleged forged certificate and doctor

According to a report in Tages-Anzeiger, Swiss authorities suspect the certificate to be forged and note that Doctor Andrea Ludwig signed two certificates for Xhaka – one on 25 January 2022 and another on 11 November 2022. The later document was allegedly obtained from a family doctor in Lucerne, prompting concerns about whether Arsenal would have approved foreign travel the day before a Premier League fixture.

Match day timeline and training evidence

Exactly 24 hours after the disputed vaccination date, Arsenal won 2-0 away at Wolves in the final game before the Qatar World Cup, with Xhaka starting the match but being substituted after 16 minutes due to a gastrointestinal infection. Photographs released by the club show Xhaka training in London on 11 November, the same day he is claimed to have received the second jab, and a team photo posted on Instagram marks his 200th Premier League appearance.

In the same Instagram post, Xhaka appears with his wife Leonita, confirming his presence at the Arsenal training ground on the day the certificate was dated. The visual evidence contradicts the notion that he was absent from the club’s preparations while obtaining the vaccine.

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Legal investigation and football consequences

Xhaka admitted wrongdoing yesterday, stating, "I was personally very uncertain and had serious concerns at the time" and acknowledging that he obtained a vaccination certificate instead of seeking proper medical advice. He added, "I take responsibility for this decision, am committed to investigating the matter, and am fully cooperating with the relevant authorities."

Swiss prosecutors in the Canton of Lucerne have opened an investigation into possible forgery and falsification of documents, with the offence carrying a maximum prison sentence of five years. The authorities reiterated that Xhaka is presumed innocent until proven guilty, while Doctor Ludwig maintains her innocence and has faced wider scrutiny for her use of the cancer drug opaganib during the pandemic.

As a result of the probe, Xhaka has been excluded from the Switzerland squad for upcoming Nations League matches against North Macedonia, Scotland and Slovenia, despite holding the national team record with 152 caps and having captained them to the World Cup quarter‑finals in North America.

Neither the Football Association nor the Premier League mandated Covid-19 vaccination, so Xhaka is not expected to face any sanctions in English football, and he is not thought to have broken any travel laws to Qatar or Dubai, where vaccines were not compulsory.