Granit Xhaka Faces Criminal Probe After Admitting To Fake Covid Certificate

Granit Xhaka is under criminal investigation by Swiss prosecutors after admitting he obtained a forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate in 2022, a confession that has already cost him his place in the Switzerland squad for this month's Nations League fixtures BBC Sport reports.

The public prosecutor's office in Lucerne confirmed it is examining whether Xhaka committed a criminal offence in acquiring a "false or forged" certificate, a document that was needed at the time for certain travel and venue access in Switzerland according to BBC Sport. The 33-year-old, who now plays for Sunderland, was at Arsenal when the alleged offence took place.

What Xhaka is accused of, and what he's admitted

Xhaka posted a statement on social media on Monday acknowledging he had harboured "mistrust" towards the Covid-19 vaccine and had been "influenced by worries and uncertainty" at the time the BBC's report states.

"In this troubled state of mind I acquired a vaccine certificate, instead of clarifying my unanswered questions in the proper way. Today I see clearly, that this way was not correct. It was a mistake. I'm sorry."

He added that he would "take responsibility for this decision" and "fully co-operate with the relevant authorities." Crucially, Switzerland's public health office has clarified there was never a blanket legal requirement to hold a certificate, but it was necessary for access to certain venues, activities and international travel, meaning anyone without one faced real restrictions on daily life until those measures were lifted in spring 2022.

A stature that makes the admission harder to shrug off

This is not a peripheral figure admitting a lockdown-era shortcut. Xhaka is Switzerland's all-time record cap holder with 152 appearances, and he captained the side at this year's World Cup, where they were eliminated in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Argentina. A leader of that standing admitting to falsified official documents carries weight well beyond a standard disciplinary footnote.

Withdrawn or dropped? The conflicting accounts

How this exit is being framed depends heavily on who is telling the story. The Swiss Football Association, in the account relayed by BBC Sport, describes Xhaka's exit from the camp as a joint decision taken by "the player and management" together, with his international future to be discussed only after the current window closes.

A blunter headline from across the Atlantic

ESPN's coverage tells a sharper version of the same event. Its report states plainly that Sunderland's Granit Xhaka has lost his place in the Switzerland squad after admitting to possessing a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate, framing the outcome as the federation acting rather than the captain stepping aside ESPN reports.

The gap between "withdrawn" and "dropped" is not merely semantic. One version preserves Xhaka's authority as captain and leaves the door open for a graceful return once the legal process concludes. The other suggests the federation moved to protect itself and the squad's image once the admission became public, regardless of how the parting was later characterised. Both outlets agree on the underlying facts, the admission, the investigation and the squad exit, but the choice of language says a great deal about how each side wants the story understood.

The legal stakes: what a Swiss forgery investigation could mean

This is now a live criminal matter, not a reputational headache that ends with an apology. Swiss authorities can pursue charges over forged health certificates, and the Lucerne prosecutor's confirmation that an investigation is under way, to determine whether obtaining a "false or forged" certificate constituted criminal behaviour, moves this firmly into judicial territory per BBC Sport's reporting.

Why a mistake in 2022 matters in 2026

• The alleged offence dates to 2022, when certificates were required for some travel and venue access in Switzerland.
• Those restrictions were lifted in spring 2022, but certificates continued to be issued mainly for international travel requirements.
• Xhaka has said he will "fully co-operate" with authorities, though co-operation does not determine the outcome of a prosecutor's investigation.
• No charges have been confirmed at this stage; the case remains at the investigative phase.

Xhaka's statement of contrition may carry weight with the Swiss FA and with public opinion, but it has no formal bearing on whether prosecutors find grounds to charge him. That decision rests entirely with the Lucerne authorities, and the process could run well beyond this international window.

Fallout for Switzerland and Sunderland

Switzerland face a compressed run of fixtures without their captain: away trips to North Macedonia and Scotland on 26 and 29 September, followed by home games against Slovenia and North Macedonia in early October, according to BBC Sport. The federation says Xhaka's longer-term role will be addressed once this window ends, leaving open whether he returns to lead a side that reached a World Cup quarter-final under his captaincy earlier this year.

Sunderland stays out of it, for now

At club level, Sunderland manager Regis le Bris declined to engage with the allegations following his side's defeat at Manchester City, drawing a firm line between football matters and Xhaka's off-field situation.

"It is not my area to speak about those problems or situations. My area is football. About football, he is really good."

That separation may prove harder to maintain if the Lucerne investigation escalates. Sunderland signed Xhaka as an experienced, reputationally solid presence in a Premier League squad under scrutiny for its results; a criminal case involving their captain-calibre midfielder is not the kind of story that stays confined to Switzerland for long, particularly given the Premier League's own heightened focus on player conduct this season.

What happens next

The immediate football question is straightforward: Switzerland play four Nations League matches without their most capped player, and the federation has been explicit that his future will only be decided once this window closes. Whether that conversation results in reinstatement or a longer exile likely depends on how the Lucerne investigation develops in the coming weeks.

The legal question is the one with real teeth. If prosecutors decide there is sufficient evidence of criminal conduct in obtaining the certificate, Xhaka could face charges that carry consequences far beyond a squad omission. Until that process concludes, both the Swiss FA and Sunderland appear content to keep football and the investigation in separate lanes, but that distinction will become far harder to sustain if the case moves towards formal charges.