Granit Xhaka admits buying vaccine papers – absent from Nations League
After days of rumors about forged Covid‑vaccination certificates, the 33‑year‑old Swiss record international Granit Xhaka publicly admitted that he bought a vaccination confirmation via Instagram. The Lucerne public prosecutor's office will interview him soon, and he will miss the next four Nations‑League matches for Switzerland.
In his Instagram post, Xhaka explained that he was heavily unsettled at the time, felt deep mistrust towards the vaccine, and out of fear had purchased a confirmation. He described the action today as a mistake and emphasized that he takes responsibility.
His spokesperson Andreas Bantel had, two days before the statement, announced that Xhaka had received a medical confirmation for two appointments. The tabloid Blick compared these appointments with the schedule of his former club and titled the report “New inconsistencies in the Xhaka case”.
Contractual Situation and Association Reaction
Xhaka is currently under contract with AFC Sunderland in the English Premier League. The president of the Swiss Football Association, Peter Knäbel, welcomed the confession but stated that it is in the team’s interest not to field Xhaka until the end of the Nations‑League window.
The national team is training in Belek, Turkey, and is preparing for away matches on September 26 and 29. Two more fixtures follow in early October. Knäbel emphasized that after the window closes, the situation will be reassessed together with Xhaka.
Legal Consequences and Comparable Cases
Simon Kopp, head of the media department of the Lucerne public prosecutor's office, explained that it is being examined whether there is criminally relevant conduct in connection with a possible document forgery. Xhaka has pledged to cooperate fully with the authorities.
The Lucerne public prosecutor's office had already investigated the case of former Swiss ice‑hockey national coach Patrick Fischer, who in 2022 had purchased a forged Covid‑vaccination certificate for the Winter Games in China. In German football, Markus Anfang and Florian Junge stepped down from their positions at Werder Bremen after the health authority launched investigations into forged vaccination documents; Anfang also received a fine and a suspension from the DFB sports court.
The same report mentioned additional headlines, such as those concerning Ricarda Lang, illustrating the breadth of the topics covered.