Scotland's opponents landed major blow as key man pulls out of squad amid investigation with statement made
Switzerland and Sunderland captain admits ‘I made a mistake’
Scotland's Nations League opponents, Switzerland, have been dealt a major blow after their talismanic captain Granit Xhaka withdrew from the squad amid a pending investigation into claims he forged a Covid certificate.
Drawn in the same group as Scotland, Murat Yakin’s side will head to Hampden next Tuesday (September 29) in a game that marks new head coach Sebastien Pocognoli's first home match in charge of the national team. Switzerland will also face North Macedonia and Slovenia on either side of the Glasgow clash.
However, they’ll head to the Scottish national stadium without their skipper after the Sunderland star confirmed he had withdrawn from the squad following an investigation by the Swiss authorities, which claimed an unnamed doctor had issued a series of Covid certificates to individuals at the height of the pandemic, despite them not having been vaccinated.
While Xhaka captained Sunderland to an entertaining 5-3 defeat against Manchester City at the weekend, reports in his homeland claimed that he was one of those who had been given a forged certificate.
Speaking via his official Instagram page, Xhaka has now confirmed the news in a lengthy statement: “In recent days, there has been much reporting about a matter from my past. I would like to address this personally. At the time, I was personally very uncertain and had serious concerns regarding the Covid-19 vaccination. I felt deep distrust of the vaccine and was plagued by fear and uncertainty.
“In this turbulent emotional state, I obtained a vaccination certificate instead of clarifying my open questions through the proper channels. Today I clearly see that this was not the right course of action. It was a mistake. I am sorry. I take responsibility for this decision, am committed to investigating the matter and am fully cooperating with the relevant authorities.”
The 33-year-old has now been withdrawn from the squad, with a statement from the Swiss Football Association saying: “Following his personal statement confirming his vaccination, Granit Xhaka will not participate in the upcoming training camp of the men's national team.”
The news comes just over a week on from Noah Okafor refusal to play for the Swiss national team, with the Leeds United attacker citing “broken promises” and a breakdown in his relationship with their 51-year-old head coach, Yakin, as the primary reason for his decision to withdraw from national team duty.
Xhaka has previously been forced to miss a batch of Switzerland fixtures back in September 2022 after he tested positive for Covid. The former Arsenal man is now set to be questioned by authorities over the upcoming international break. As yet, his club side Sunderland AFC have not made any comment on the situation.
The investigating authorities in Lucerne have revealed they will be working to try to ascertain whether any criminal proceedings should be launched over the vaccination certificate scandal. A spokesperson for the Lucerne Cantonal Prosecutor’s Office said: “The aim is to clarify whether there has been conduct relevant under criminal law in connection with the possible fraudulent obtaining of a false certification and/or document forgery.”
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