Granit Xhaka will not captain Switzerland when their Nations League campaign begins this month, but his absence has nothing to do with injury or form. The Sunderland midfielder has admitted that he obtained a false Covid-19 vaccination certificate in 2022, when he was still an Arsenal player, and has stepped away from the national team while Swiss prosecutors examine the circumstances surrounding the document.
Xhaka issued a public apology on Monday after an investigation by the Lucerne prosecutor's office became known. Switzerland subsequently confirmed that the decision for him to miss the entire international camp was taken jointly by the player and the Swiss Football Association rather than imposed as a formal sporting suspension. The 33-year-old, Switzerland's record appearance holder with 152 caps, will therefore miss four Nations League fixtures while the case is considered.
What did Granit Xhaka admit?
The case concerns a Covid vaccination certificate obtained during the pandemic in 2022. Xhaka acknowledged that he had serious doubts about vaccination at the time and chose to obtain documentation rather than resolve those concerns through the normal medical process.
In his statement, Xhaka described himself as fearful and uncertain about the vaccine and accepted that his decision was wrong. He apologised, said he was taking responsibility and confirmed that he was cooperating with the relevant authorities. Swiss broadcaster SRF reports that prosecutors had opened proceedings several days before the statement became public.
The distinction is important from a legal perspective. Xhaka has admitted obtaining the certificate, but prosecutors are still investigating precisely what happened and which provisions of Swiss criminal law, if any, apply to his conduct. The Lucerne prosecutor's office has said its inquiry concerns the possible fraudulent obtaining of a false certification and/or document forgery.
Why has Xhaka been left out of the Switzerland squad?
Switzerland have not announced a conventional disciplinary ban. After Xhaka informed federation officials about the situation, both sides agreed that he would not attend the current camp, allowing the team to prepare for its Nations League matches without the investigation dominating the squad's work.
SFV president Peter Knäbel said the federation welcomed Xhaka's decision to address the issue publicly and take responsibility. The association will reconsider his position once the international window has finished, which means no final decision has yet been made over his longer-term status with Switzerland or the captaincy.
Xhaka's absence also comes during an unusually long international period, with FIFA combining the traditional September and October windows into one extended break from 2026. Switzerland are therefore preparing for four Nations League matches in the same camp, a format explained in more detail in our guide to why the international break is three weeks long in 2026.
Xhaka will miss the away matches against North Macedonia and Scotland, followed by home fixtures against Slovenia and North Macedonia. Switzerland began their training camp in Belek without the midfielder and will complete all four matches before the federation discusses the situation with him again.
The case dates back to his Arsenal years
The certificate was obtained in 2022, when Xhaka was playing for Arsenal. His vaccination status had already attracted attention during the pandemic: SRF notes that he missed a Switzerland match in September 2021 after testing positive for Covid while publicly described as unvaccinated, while by March 2022 he had said that he had since been vaccinated.
The current investigation is linked to a wider inquiry involving a doctor in Lucerne who is alleged to have issued false Covid certificates. Swiss media reported that the doctor's practice had previously been searched and evidence seized, with prosecutors now examining individual cases connected to the certificates. The doctor has denied wrongdoing.
Xhaka is expected to be questioned by prosecutors in early October. His admission removes some uncertainty over whether he possessed such a certificate, but the legal investigation still has to establish exactly how it was obtained, what use was made of it and whether those actions meet the threshold for a criminal offence.
Could Granit Xhaka face criminal punishment?
Swiss law allows serious penalties for document forgery in the most severe cases. Article 251 of the Swiss Criminal Code provides for a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up to five years where somebody deliberately creates, procures or uses false documentation in order to obtain an unlawful advantage or deceive another party.
That maximum sentence should not be confused with a likely outcome in Xhaka's case. No criminal conviction has been reached, prosecutors are still investigating, and the Guardian reports that a custodial sentence is considered extremely unlikely even if charges are ultimately brought. Swiss broadcaster SRF has similarly suggested that full cooperation could make a financial penalty a more realistic possibility, although any sanction remains a matter for the authorities rather than the football federation.
There is also no confirmed football-wide ban. SRF's assessment is that, on the information currently available, there is no obvious legal basis for suspending Xhaka from the sport, particularly because there is no clear evidence that the certificate gave him a competitive advantage. The SFV's present action is limited to the current national-team camp.
Will Xhaka still play for Sunderland?
At present there is no indication that Xhaka has been suspended by Sunderland or that the case will prevent him from playing club football when the Premier League resumes. The events under investigation took place before he joined the club, during his time at Arsenal, and Sunderland told the Guardian that they were not commenting on the matter.
Xhaka joined Bayer Leverkusen from Arsenal in 2023 and moved to Sunderland in 2025, later becoming one of the central figures in the club's rise and return to European competition. He remains Sunderland captain and featured against Manchester City immediately before the international break. Nothing announced by the Swiss authorities or the football federation currently changes his club eligibility.
That could change if the legal investigation produces further findings or if football authorities decide separately that disciplinary action is required, but neither has happened so far. Any suggestion that Xhaka is already facing a club suspension or a FIFA ban would therefore go beyond what has been confirmed.
Could Xhaka lose the Switzerland captaincy?
The SFV has deliberately left that question open. Xhaka has been Switzerland's most influential senior player for years and holds the national appearance record, but the federation intends to assess the situation only after the current Nations League window rather than announce a permanent sanction immediately.
Knäbel's comments suggest that the federation views Xhaka's public admission and cooperation positively, even while accepting that the underlying conduct is serious. SRF reported that the association has not decided whether he will retain the captaincy, and there has been no announcement that his international career is over.
The next decision will therefore come after Switzerland have completed their four Nations League matches. By then, Xhaka may also have been questioned by prosecutors, giving the federation considerably more information on which to base its response.
For now, the facts are narrower than some of the headlines surrounding the case suggest. Xhaka has admitted obtaining a false vaccination certificate in 2022, apologised and agreed to miss Switzerland's current international camp. A criminal investigation remains active, but he has not been convicted, has not received a football-wide suspension and has not been permanently removed from the national team.
Published by Patrick Jane
21.09.2026