Granite Xhaka investigated over alleged fake Covid vaccination certificate

Swiss prosecutors have opened a criminal investigation into Switzerland captain and Sunderland midfielder Granite Xhaka over suspicions that he obtained a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate during the pandemic.

The case also involves a doctor in Lucerne who is suspected of issuing vaccination certificates without administering the corresponding vaccines. Swiss police raided the doctor’s practice in 2023 and seized evidence as part of an investigation involving several people believed to have obtained Covid-related certificates.

Reports in Switzerland, cited by German newspaper Bild, say the inquiry is focused on whether Xhaka received a document confirming that he had been vaccinated against coronavirus despite not having actually received the vaccine.

The Lucerne public prosecutor’s office confirmed that proceedings had been opened against both Xhaka and the doctor. It said the investigation would establish whether any conduct amounted to a criminal offence, including obtaining an official document containing false information or falsifying documents linked to Covid certificates.

Xhaka is expected to appear before prosecutors at the beginning of October to give evidence in the case.

A spokesperson for the player said Xhaka would cooperate fully and transparently with the authorities. The spokesperson also said the doctor concerned had provided a certificate which, according to the player’s account, confirmed that he had been vaccinated officially.

The doctor has denied the allegations. Her lawyer said she maintained that she had administered Xhaka’s vaccination and that the procedure had been carried out properly and in accordance with the relevant rules.

Xhaka previously said that he had received a Covid-19 vaccine after contracting the virus in 2021, an infection which caused him to miss one of Switzerland’s matches.

The investigation remains ongoing, and both Xhaka and the doctor are presumed innocent unless and until a final court judgment establishes otherwise.