Xhaka Handed Two-Year Probation and Suspended Fine Over Fake Covid-19 Certificate

Switzerland and Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka has confirmed he received a two-year probation sentence after admitting he obtained a fraudulent Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

The 34-year-old shared the news on Instagram after the Lucerne Public Prosecutor's Office reached its decision. "I accept the decision and take responsibility," he wrote. 

The case was first revealed in Swiss media reports last month.

Swissinfo reports that the fine was set at 50 daily rates of 3,000 Swiss francs each. It is suspended, so Xhaka will not have to pay it as long as he commits no other offence during the two years. He gave investigators a full statement, which is helping their wider inquiry into a local medical professional suspected of supplying false documents.

The affair cost Switzerland their captain for the recent window. Xhaka missed all four Nations League games while he dealt with the prosecutors. The Swiss still won all four matches, and both the federation and the player agreed that stepping away was the right call.

Sunderland have kept their distance. They point out that it all happened years before Xhaka joined them in 2025 from Bayer Leverkusen. He got the certificate in 2022, when he was still a key man in Arsenal's midfield.

Xhaka has been open about why he did it. He has said he felt deep distrust and anxiety over the medical requirements at the time and was in a "turbulent emotional state". Instead of getting clear advice from doctors, he took a shortcut, and he now calls it a big mistake he deeply regrets.

He is not the only Swiss player caught up in the so-called vaccine affair. Atlanta United striker Breel Embolo was also left out of the national team camp after it emerged he had obtained forged documents through different channels. He is alleged to have dealt with members of the Hells Angels gang in 2021 to get them, and a court order was made against him in late 2025.