Granit Xhaka given two-year suspended sentence and £136,265 fine over fraudulent COVID certificate

Sunderland captain Granit Xhaka was handed a two-year suspended sentence and fined £136,265 on October 8, 2026, after admitting to obtaining a fraudulent COVID certificate in Switzerland, a case concluded by the Public Prosecutor’s Office in Lucerne. Xhaka announced the punishment on social media and described the legal outcome in a written statement.

Xhaka acknowledged responsibility for his actions in his social media post and reiterated that stance in his statement: "A few weeks ago, I personally spoke out here and said that I take responsibility for my decision. I stand by that," Xhaka wrote. He has previously said he was "personally extremely uncertain" and had "serious doubts" about receiving the COVID vaccine, adding in September that, "I felt deep distrust of the vaccine and was plagued by fear and uncertainty."

Describing the prosecutorial outcome, Xhaka wrote: "After I gave a full statement to the public prosecutor’s office, the prosecutor’s decision has now been made." He also detailed the conviction in his statement: "I have been convicted by a summary penalty order for obtaining false certification, receiving a suspended monetary penalty of 50 daily rates of CHF 3,000, with a two-year probation period."

On the operation of the sentence, Xhaka quoted the prosecutor’s ruling: "That means the penalty will not be enforced as long as I do not commit any further offences during this period. I have already paid the procedural costs." The club-level figure reported alongside the ruling described the sentence as 50 daily rates of £2,725.

The reporting contains both Swiss franc and pound sterling figures; the conviction was specified as 50 daily rates of CHF 3,000, totalling CHF 150,000, while the fine was also presented as £136,265 in coverage of the case.

The Swiss Office of Public Health told reporters that although a COVID certificate was not required by law, it was necessary for participation in a variety of activities, including international travel, and that the national restriction had been repealed in spring 2022 while certificates continued to be issued for travel purposes.

Xhaka has been dropped from Switzerland’s squad for the international break; his suspended penalty will remain unenforced provided he commits no further offences during the two-year probation period.