Granit Xhaka receives probation in fake vaccination certificate case

# Granit Xhaka receives probation in fake vaccination certificate case

Switzerland and Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka has received two years of probation after admitting that he obtained a false COVID-19 vaccination certificate during the pandemic, according to an account he published after Swiss media disclosed the case.

Xhaka said the decision also included a suspended fine of 150,000 Swiss francs, reported as about $180,000, and that he had paid court costs. In his public response, the 34-year-old said he accepted the decision and took responsibility.

The case emerged while public prosecutors in Lucerne were investigating a doctor in the Swiss canton. Xhaka gave a statement to prosecutors during a period in which he was absent from the national team. The available report does not provide a detailed account of how the false certificate was obtained or used, so those circumstances remain outside the scope of the verified record.

Xhaka withdrew from Switzerland’s squad for four Nations League matches played over the preceding two weeks. Switzerland won all four games in its second-tier group without him. His absence gave the legal matter a direct sporting consequence even though the reported penalty did not include a football suspension.

The midfielder holds the men’s national-team record with 152 appearances for Switzerland. That status, combined with his role as captain for both country and Sunderland, makes the admission significant beyond the court penalty. It involves a prominent player acknowledging the use of a fraudulent public-health document while continuing an active career at club and international level.

The suspended nature of the fine means the reported financial penalty is not the same as an immediate payment of that amount. Xhaka separately said he paid the court costs. The two-year probation and suspended fine should therefore be understood as distinct parts of the outcome he described.

The report is based substantially on Xhaka’s own statement and media coverage of the Swiss proceedings. It confirms his admission, the probation, the suspended fine, the court costs and his national-team withdrawal. It does not establish additional allegations against other people involved in the broader inquiry.

For Switzerland, the immediate competitive period passed successfully in Xhaka’s absence, but the case creates questions about his return after withdrawing from the squad. No further disciplinary decision by the national team or Sunderland was included in the evidence available for this report.

Xhaka’s statement provides the clearest conclusion to the disclosed portion of the case: he is not contesting the decision and has publicly accepted responsibility. Any assessment of further sporting consequences will depend on subsequent action by football authorities or his teams rather than the criminal outcome alone.