Granit Xhaka Receives a £136,000 Suspended Fine After Admitting He Forged a Covid Vaccine Certificate

• Sunderland and Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka has received a suspended fine of 150,000 Swiss francs, around £136,000, over a forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate obtained in 2022.
• Xhaka says the fine is suspended for two years provided he commits no further offences, and that he has already paid the court costs.
• The 34-year-old withdrew from Switzerland’s squad for three Nations League matches after his initial statement in September, and is set to return for Sunderland’s game against Brighton.

“I Stand by That”

Granit Xhaka says he has been sentenced to a suspended fine over a forged Covid-19 vaccination certificate he obtained in 2022, when the document was required in Switzerland for some travel abroad. The fine, 150,000 Swiss francs or around £136,000, is suspended for two years provided he does not commit any further offences, and he says he has already paid the court costs.

“A few weeks ago, I spoke personally here and said that I would take responsibility for my decision. I stand by that,” the midfielder wrote in German on Instagram. “I was sentenced by summary judgment for obtaining a false certification to a suspended fine of 50 daily rates of CHF 3,000 each. I accept the decision and take responsibility for my actions. Thank you for the many messages of support over the past few weeks. They mean a lot to me.”

Xhaka was playing for Arsenal in 2022 and posted a statement on social media on 21 September saying he had a “mistrust” of the vaccine and had been “influenced by worries and uncertainty.” He is Switzerland’s record appearance holder with 152 caps and, after that initial statement, withdrew from the national team’s camp for Nations League matches against Scotland, North Macedonia and Slovenia in the international break that has just finished.

A Requirement That No Longer Exists

Switzerland’s office of public health has confirmed there was never a general legal requirement to hold a Covid-19 certificate, but one was needed for access to various activities, venues and travel, meaning participation was restricted for anyone without one. Those measures were in place until spring 2022. After that point, certificates continued to be issued, mainly to help people meet entry requirements when travelling abroad.

Xhaka captained Switzerland at the World Cup earlier this year, where they were knocked out in the quarter-finals by eventual runners-up Argentina. He is expected to return to action when Sunderland host Brighton on Saturday.

Black Cats manager Regis Le Bris was asked about the case but kept his answer focused on footballing questions. “No comment on external topics but what I’ve seen over the international break, he has trained really well. It’s positive. He’s in a good place football-wise and for me that is the most important,” Le Bris said.

What Happens Next

Xhaka joined Sunderland from Bayer Leverkusen in July 2025 and has become one of the Black Cats’ most senior figures in their first season back in the Premier League. A suspended fine draws a line under the legal side of the case for now, though the midfielder will need to stay clear of further offences for two years to avoid the full penalty being triggered.

The Swiss Football Association said after his initial statement that it would reassess his national team position once the international window had concluded. With the fine settled and the window over, attention turns to whether Xhaka is recalled for Switzerland’s next camp, and to how Sunderland manage a captain who has just taken responsibility for a mistake made three years before he arrived at the club.

A Captain Sunderland Need Fully Fit

Xhaka’s importance to Sunderland goes beyond the armband. The Black Cats returned to the Premier League this season after an eight-year absence, and his experience, 152 caps for Switzerland and a Premier League and European title with Arsenal, has been treated internally as the steadying influence a newly-promoted squad needs through its toughest fixtures. A prolonged absence or a heavier sanction would have stripped Le Bris of exactly the voice he has leaned on most in the dressing room.

The case also lands at a moment when footballers’ conduct away from the pitch continues to draw as much attention as results on it. Xhaka’s decision to address the matter publicly himself, rather than wait for the story to be reported, mirrors a wider shift among senior professionals toward getting ahead of a story rather than managing it after the fact. Whether that approach softens the reaction from supporters is a separate question from whether it was the right thing to do, but Xhaka chose to answer for the 2022 certificate directly, in his own words, before a club statement had to.

WRITTEN BY

Jarrod

Jarrod Partridge is the Founder of Futbol Chronicle and an accredited journalist with over 30 years of experience following international football. A member of the AIPS International Sports Press Association, Jarrod has covered matches at stadiums around the world, bringing first-hand insight to every match report, player profile, and tactical analysis he writes.

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