Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka is under criminal investigation in the canton of Lucerne over allegations surrounding a COVID-19 vaccination certificate, but the claim that he “could face up to five years in prison” should be presented carefully: five years is the statutory maximum associated with document forgery under Swiss law, not a sentence that prosecutors have demanded or that Xhaka is currently facing as a likely outcome.
The Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office has confirmed that proceedings have been opened against Xhaka and a Lucerne-based doctor. Investigators are examining whether criminally relevant conduct occurred in connection with the possible obtaining of a false certification and/or forgery of COVID-19 certificates. Xhaka is presumed innocent.
The case stems from allegations that Xhaka obtained documentation stating that he had received COVID-19 vaccinations when the vaccinations may not actually have taken place.
Xhaka tested positive for COVID-19 in September 2021 and was publicly described at the time as unvaccinated. He subsequently said that he had been vaccinated. Prosecutors are now investigating whether the vaccinations recorded in the relevant documentation were genuinely administered.
Xhaka denies wrongdoing
Xhaka has not publicly accepted the allegation. His spokesperson, Andreas Bantel, said the Switzerland captain would cooperate fully with the authorities and stated that Xhaka has confirmation from his treating doctor that he received COVID-19 vaccinations.
The doctor at the centre of the investigation has also denied wrongdoing. Her lawyer, Cornel Borbély, said his client maintains that she personally vaccinated Xhaka and that the procedures were carried out according to the applicable rules.
The Swiss Football Association has said it currently does not have sufficiently reliable information to comment on the substance of the investigation.
Why the investigation has intensified
According to Swiss outlet Blick, police searched the doctor’s practice in 2023 and secured evidence as part of a wider investigation involving allegedly false COVID certificates. Xhaka is expected to be questioned by the Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office in early October.
A subsequent Blick report raised questions about the dates recorded on the vaccination documentation. The outlet reported that the document it obtained lists January 25, 2022 and November 8, 2022 as the vaccination dates. Xhaka’s spokesperson initially referred to November 11 for the second vaccination before subsequently confirming November 8.
The November 8 date is significant to the investigation because Xhaka was playing for Arsenal in England around that period. However, the reported travel and fixture circumstances do not by themselves establish that the vaccination did not occur; investigators would need to establish the relevant facts and whether any offence was committed.
Swiss criminal-law expert André Kuhn told Blick that document forgery can be punishable by a monetary penalty or imprisonment of up to five years. That establishes the potential statutory ceiling for the relevant offence; it does notmean that Xhaka has been sentenced, charged with an offence carrying an automatic five-year term, or that prosecutors expect him to receive five years in prison.
The same report explains that the investigation is still at the evidence-gathering stage. Authorities will establish the facts, question those involved and determine whether there is sufficient evidence of criminal conduct.
The 33-year-old remains Switzerland captain and is currently scheduled to be involved in the national team’s upcoming Nations League programme, while the criminal investigation proceeds.
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