Not the lame one of the week? Xhaka gets a red card, refuses vaccination and catches covid before WC qualifier

Getting a red card and a coronavirus in the same week? A very unlucky stunt! That’s what Swiss captain Granit Xhaka managed to do just before important national team matches. Moreover, it was revealed that he was not the only one to have been vaccinated, and (not only) faces negative attitudes in his home country.

When Murat Yakin, the head coach of the Swiss national team, was preparing his charges for the friendly against Greece and the two important World Cup qualifiers that followed in the last few days, he was missing a key link.

The captain of his team, Granit Xhaka, was left out of the game after being sent off in the league match against Manchester City (which Arsenal subsequently lost 5-0), and he completed an unfortunate week with a positive test for coronavirus.

Especially in the land of the Helvetic Cross, which lost a mainstay of its squad ahead of very important matches against Italy and Northern Ireland, questions have been raised as to whether Xhaka was inoculated at all.

“He was not,” the Swiss Football Association replied through its spokesman Adrian Arnold, triggering a wave of criticism against the 28-year-old Basel native.

“He is a player who has not yet received any dose of the coronavirus vaccine. We left it to the discretion of each member of the national team. But of course the vaccination was strongly recommended to everyone,” Arnold said.

What is remarkable, however, is that all of Xhaka’s national teammates have the antibodies to the virus that has plagued the planet for a year and a half.

And they are very much the same at Arsenal. Coach Mikel Arteta has already declared before the start of this league season that the vast majority of his charges are fully inoculated and virtually everyone else has had at least the first dose.

“We are trying to persuade everyone to get the vaccine as this is a step to protect themselves, their families and everyone at the club. We explain why it’s worthwhile, what it’s good for. But the decision is up to each individual,” the 39-year-old Spanish coach pointed out.

He added that he sees the vaccination as a generous, considerate gesture, the benefits of which, especially for footballers, are now far greater than at the beginning and definitely worthwhile.

From a club perspective, however, Granit Xhaka may not be too sorry about the short layoff. He wouldn’t play next weekend anyway given the aforementioned suspension from the last game against Manchester City and the next one, on September 18 against Burnley, should already be available again.

There is one more interesting statistic related to the topic, which was reported by The Telegraph this week. Apparently, a full one-third of players operating in the EFL, England’s top four competitions, are not planning to undergo vaccinations. But Premier League clubs are not sharing specific figures.

Sources: Eurosport, The Telegraph