Soccer-Xhaka handed suspended fine over fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate

Soccer Football - UEFA Europa League - Sunderland v AZ Alkmaar - Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Britain - September 16, 2026 Sunderland's Granit Xhaka Action Images via Reuters/Lee Smith

Oct 8 (Reuters) - Sunderland captain ⁠Granit Xhaka has received a suspended fine of 150,000 Swiss francs ($180,159) ⁠after admitting he obtained a fake COVID-19 vaccination certificate, the ‌midfielder said on social media on Thursday.

The fine comprises 50 daily penalties of 3,000 francs and will not be enforced provided Xhaka commits no further offence during a ​two-year probationary period. The 34-year-old said he had ⁠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,” Xhaka wrote in German onInstagram.

“I was sentenced by summary judgment for obtaining ⁠a false certification to a suspended fine of 50 ​daily rates of ‌CHF 3,000 each, with a probationary period of two years. This ⁠means: The sentence ​will not be enforced if I do not commit any further offences during this time. I have already paid the court costs.

“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 admitted last month that he had obtained ⁠the false certificate at a time when he harboured deep mistrust of COVID-19 vaccines and had serious reservations about them.

The Switzerland international said he had been struggling with uncertainty at the time and had since cooperated ​fully with prosecutors.

Following his admission, Swiss Football ⁠Association president Peter Knaebel said Xhaka had been left out of Switzerland’s squad ​for the recent international window. He missed ‌four Nations League matches, two against ​North Macedonia and one each against Scotland and Slovenia.

($1 = 0.8326 Swiss francs)

(Reporting by Paras J. Haji in BengaluruEditing by Toby Davis)

Thank you for your report!

足球 - 欧足联欧洲联赛 - 桑德兰对阵阿尔克马尔 - 光明球场，桑德兰，英国 - 2026年9月16日 桑德兰球员格拉尼特·扎卡精彩瞬间 图片来自路透社/李·史密斯

10 月 8 日（路透社）——桑德兰队长格拉尼特·扎卡周四在社交媒体上承认自己获得了伪造的 COVID-19 疫苗接种证明，因此被处以 15 万瑞士法郎（180,159 美元）的缓期罚款。

罚款包括50次每日3000法郎的罚款，如果扎卡在两年的缓刑期内不再犯任何罪行，则罚款将不会强制执行。这位34岁的球员表示，他已经支付了诉讼费用。

“几周前，我曾亲自在这里表示，我会为自己的决定承担责任。我坚持我的立场。”扎卡在Instagram上用德语写道。

“我因获取虚假证明而被简易判决处以缓刑，罚款50天，每天3000瑞士法郎，缓刑期为两年。这意味着：如果我在缓刑期间不再犯任何罪行，则该判决将不予执行。我已经支付了诉讼费用。”

“我接受这个决定，并为自己的行为承担责任。感谢大家过去几周发来的众多支持信息，这对我意义重大。”

扎卡上个月承认，他当时对新冠疫苗深感不信任，并对此持严重保留意见，因此获得了伪造的疫苗接种证明。

这位瑞士国脚表示，当时他一直处于迷茫和不确定状态，此后他已全力配合检方的调查。

在扎卡承认失利后，瑞士足协主席彼得·克纳贝尔表示，扎卡已被排除在瑞士队近期国际比赛日的大名单之外。他错过了四场欧洲国家联赛的比赛，其中两场是对阵北马其顿，另外两场分别是对阵苏格兰和斯洛文尼亚。

（1美元=0.8326瑞士法郎）

（Paras J. Haji在班加罗尔报道，Toby Davis编辑）

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