Grant Xhaka is facing both legal and sporting consequences after admitting that he obtained a fake Covid vaccination certificate while he was an Arsenal player.
The Switzerland captain, now with Sunderland, has acknowledged obtaining the certificate in 2022, when Covid restrictions were still in place across much of Europe. He has said that he had concerns about vaccination at the time, but has accepted that obtaining false documentation was a mistake and apologised for his actions.
More than four years later, that decision has returned to cause him problems.
Swiss prosecutors are examining the circumstances surrounding the certificate, with possible offences including document forgery and fraudulently obtaining false certification. Xhaka is expected to be questioned as part of the investigation and Swiss law allows substantial penalties for document forgery, including up to five years in jail. There is currently no suggestion that Xhaka is likely to receive a custodial sentence, with instead a financial penalty a more realistic possibility if the investigation eventually leads to a conviction.
The more immediate consequences are on the football field.
Xhaka has been withdrawn from the Switzerland squad for their forthcoming Nations League matches, with his international position expected to be reconsidered after the current window.
His position as Swiss captain is now in doubt and perhaps his entire international future.
The 33-tear old is not just another member of the squad. He is Switzerland’s record appearance holder, with 152 caps, and has been one of the most important figures in the national side for more than a decade.
The timing is particularly awkward. Xhaka’s admission concerns something that happened more than four years ago and during his Arsenal career, but the consequences have arrived while he remains an active international captain and Premier League player.
Much will now depend on the Swiss investigation and whether prosecutors decide to take the case further.
It remains unclear whether Arsenal had any knowledge of the certificate or of the circumstances in which Xhaka obtained it. Swiss reports have also questioned whether the club knew about any trip to Lucerne during a particularly congested run of fixtures in November 2022.
