Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka sidelined over fake COVID certificate

[p]The 33-year-old midfielder admitted on his social media channels Monday that he had presented a forged certificate to avoid mandatory vaccination during the Covid crisis.[/p][p][b]"At the time, I was very worried about the issue of Covid-19 vaccination... I felt deep mistrust regarding the vaccine and was gripped by anxiety and doubt,"[/b] he said on Instagram.[/p][p][b]"Today I clearly see that I made the wrong choice. It was a mistake. I am sorry," [/b]he wrote, adding that he was "cooperating fully with the relevant authorities".[/p][p]The Lucerne public prosecutor's office is currently investigating the matter, according to Swiss media.[/p][p]The Swiss Football Association meanwhile announced that it had decided, in agreement with the player, that he would not join the Swiss national team in Belek in Turkey for a training camp starting Monday.[/p][p][b]"Following his personal statement regarding his vaccination status, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/player/xhaka-granit/QBHCDKff/"]Granit Xhaka[/a] will not participate in the men's national team's upcoming gathering," [/b]it said in a statement.[/p][embed guid="e4cc08b8-0f55-4d2b-a5d6-0fd34a7f1583" url="https://x.com/footballontnt/status/2102002503235543423" social-type="twitter" /][p][b]"We welcome the fact that Granit is taking this step and is prepared to fully clarify the situation,"[/b] Swiss FA president Peter Knabel said in the statement.[/p][p][b]"At the same time, we mutually concluded that it was in the team's best interest to proceed with this gathering without him," [/b]he said.[/p][p][b]"Our priority now is to calm the situation and focus entirely on the team and the upcoming UEFA Nations League fixtures."[/b][/p][p][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/switzerland/rHJ2vy1B/"]Switzerland[/a] begin their campaign away to [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/north-macedonia/GrTQ3oHB/"]North Macedonia[/a] [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/north-macedonia-GrTQ3oHB/switzerland-rHJ2vy1B/?mid=4bXhG3nl"]on Saturday[/a] and then travel to face [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/scotland/fZRU25WH/"]Scotland[/a] on [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/scotland-fZRU25WH/switzerland-rHJ2vy1B/?mid=KxQwPbIi"]September 29th[/a].[/p][p]On October 3rd and 6th, the Swiss will host [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/slovenia/tfMf3PoO/"]Slovenia[/a] and North Macedonia in Lucerne.[/p][p][b]"At the end of this international window we will reassess the situation with Granit and discuss the next steps,"[/b] Knabel said.[/p][p]Switzerland are subsequently set to face Slovenia on November 13th and Scotland on November 16th, also as part of the Nations League.[/p][infobox id="5a8fbd57-e97c-4bdc-9f6b-fb0fb254e893" /]