‘Everyone makes mistakes’ says Granit Xhaka’s big brother in Covid investigation
Written by Freddie Cowey on 25th September 2026
Sunderland and Switzerland captain Granit Xhaka.
Taulant Xhaka, older brother of Sunderland skipper Granit Xhaka, has spoken out to defend his sibling amid an investigation into whether he (Granit) obtained a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate.
The totemic Sunderland skipper, who was playing for Arsenal at the time, tested positive in 2022 and missed a month of football as a result.
In statement on Instagram, the 33-year-old Black Cats midfielder has now admitted he made a “mistake” in obtaining a vaccination certificate from a doctor in the Swiss city of Lucerne, after outlining his “deep distrust” and “serious concerns” over the Covid-19 vaccination.
The doctor has denied issuing a fake certificate, but an investigation by the Lucerne public prosecution office (LPPO) is now underway – with potentially heavy punishments for Xhaka hanging on its findings.
In a statement less than a day after Granit’s statement, Taulant, 35, publicly declared his support for his younger brother, saying that “everyone makes mistakes”, and that “what matters is not that you never make mistakes, but that you own up to them and learn from them”.
Taulant Xhaka, brother of Sunderland AFC skipper Granit.
Taulant is a former professional footballer who now manages in Switzerland. He has played over 30 times for Albania – the nationality of the brothers’ parents – while Granit represents Switzerland at international level.
A spokesperson for the LPPO said: “The aim is to clarify whether there has been conduct relevant under criminal law in connection with the possible fraudulent obtaining of a false certification and/or document forgery.”
In the meantime, the midfielder has agreed with the Swiss FA that he will step down from his nation’s upcoming set of Nations League fixtures.
SFA president Peter Knabel said: “We jointly decided that he would skip this training camp so that the team could fully focus on the Nations League campaign.”
Only this summer, Xhaka captained Switzerland to the World Cup quarter finals, where they were defeated by eventual champions Argentina.
The level of potential punishment Xhaka faces is uncertain, but when fellow Swiss sportsman Patrick Fischer, an ice hockey coach, was found guilty in 2023 of obtaining a fake Covid certificate to travel to the 2022 Winter Olympics as Swiss ice hockey coach, he was fined, sacked from his position and banned from the sport for four years.
Sunderland AFC will no doubt be hoping the same fate does not befall their lynchpin skipper.
