Granit Xhaka receives probation for fake Covid certificate

Granit Xhaka has been placed on two years’ probation after admitting that he obtained a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate during the pandemic. The Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office also fined the Swiss national team captain 50 daily rates of CHF 3,000 each, a total of CHF 150,000.

The penalty will not be enforced if Xhaka commits no further offences during probation. The decision puts a defined legal consequence on his admission, with the suspension tied to his conduct over the next two years.

Xhaka, now 34, announced that he accepted the ruling in an Instagram post. The case concerns his use of a false vaccination certificate, an offence he acknowledged to prosecutors.

The fine amounts to CHF 150,000, calculated as 50 daily rates of CHF 3,000. The Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office set the penalty as part of its ruling on Xhaka’s admission that he obtained a fake Covid-19 vaccination certificate.

The daily-rate structure gives the fine two clear figures: the number of rates and the amount assigned to each. Xhaka also said he had paid the legal costs. His statement confirmed that he accepted the verdict and had made a full statement to the public prosecutor’s office.

The ruling’s other central term is the two-year probation period. If Xhaka commits no further offences during that time, the suspended penalty will not be enforced.

Xhaka said he accepts responsibility. In an Instagram post, the Swiss captain wrote: “I accept the decision and take responsibility,” He said he had made a full statement to the public prosecutor’s office, paid the legal costs and accepted the verdict.

His public response followed the decision by the Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office. The case moves from an admission to a sentence with specific conditions: a CHF 150,000 fine and two years’ probation, with the penalty suspended provided he commits no further offences during that period.

Xhaka’s statement and the terms of the ruling give the case a clear conclusion for now. The probation period is the condition attached to the suspended penalty.

The next two years determine whether the suspended penalty is enforced. Xhaka will avoid enforcement of the sentence if he commits no further offences during probation. The Lucerne Public Prosecutor’s Office set that condition alongside the fine for obtaining the fake certificate.

The 34-year-old said he had accepted the decision and taken responsibility. He also said he had paid the legal costs. His statement came after he admitted obtaining the certificate during the Covid-19 pandemic.

The ruling leaves Xhaka under a specific condition for the probation period. The fine and the suspension are the key terms of the decision announced on October 8, 2026.