Granit Xhaka has been accused of rejecting the chance to take vaccination against Covid-19 before the midfielder tested positive.
The Arsenal midfielder, who signed a new three-year, £100,000-a-week deal to stay at the Premier League club just last month, is captain of his national side and was left out of the contest against Greece on Wednesday September 1, while he isolates.
Xhaka initially tested negative before a follow-up PCR came back positive and it raised questions as to whether the 28-year-old had yet elected to be vaccinated.
Swiss FA’s head of communications Adrian Arnold, as per Swiss outlet Blick, confirmed the player had rejected vaccination.
‘Granit Xhaka was not vaccinated,’ Arnold said.
‘He’s a player who isn’t vaccinated. We left this up to each player, it’s a personal decision of each player – just like any other person in Switzerland.
‘We have issued a recommendation that everyone vaccinate. But he decided for himself personally. And it is also his right not to be vaccinated.’
Arnold added: ‘All the other players in the team have been vaccinated or have recovered [from Covid] – so they are more or less safe, at least from a medical point of view. One is never quite sure. Accordingly, we have a very high vaccination rate.
‘Now, unfortunately, Granit got caught. From a sporting point of view, it is a shame for us at this important moment.’
