{"id":1986,"date":"2026-10-27T21:00:45","date_gmt":"2026-10-27T21:00:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/xhaka-embolo-cleared-for-switzerland-return-after-covid-scandal\/"},"modified":"2026-10-27T21:00:45","modified_gmt":"2026-10-27T21:00:45","slug":"xhaka-embolo-cleared-for-switzerland-return-after-covid-scandal","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/2026\/10\/27\/xhaka-embolo-cleared-for-switzerland-return-after-covid-scandal\/","title":{"rendered":"Xhaka, Embolo cleared for Switzerland return after COVID scandal"},"content":{"rendered":"<div readability=\"76.471475719\">\n<p>Switzerland captain, Granit Xhaka, and striker Breel Embolo will be eligible for national team selection next month after an investigation into their use of forged COVID-19 vaccination certificates.\n<\/p>\n<p>The Swiss Football Association confirmed on Tuesday on its website that the pair could be included in manager Murat Yakin\u2019s squad for November\u2019s Nations League fixtures against Slovenia and Scotland.\n<\/p>\n<p>Xhaka, 34, missed Switzerland\u2019s October international break matches against Scotland, North Macedonia and Slovenia after admitting to obtaining a fake certificate that allowed him to travel and compete in 2022.\n<\/p>\n<p>Embolo, 29, was also dropped from the national team squad in September over the issue.<\/p>\n<p>Switzerland national team director Pierluigi Tami said the decision followed consideration of the circumstances surrounding both cases, the conclusion of legal proceedings and the sporting consequences already imposed.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWe considered this from various perspectives. The specific circumstances of both cases, the concluded legal proceedings, and the sporting consequences already implemented all factored into the decision,\u201d Tami said. <\/p>\n<div class=\"read-also\">\n<header>Related News<\/header>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>He added, \u201cWe are convinced that a return to the national team in November is responsible and the right thing to do.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Both players were fined 150,000 Swiss francs, equivalent to about \u00a3136,000, with the fines suspended for two years provided they commit no further offences.\n<\/p>\n<p>Xhaka, Sunderland\u2019s midfielder and Switzerland\u2019s record appearance holder with 152 caps, has not been stripped of the captaincy.\n<\/p>\n<p>However, the association said the final decision on the captaincy rests with Yakin, who is scheduled to announce his squad on November 5.\n<\/p>\n<p>Switzerland lead Group E ahead of their final two Nations League matches against Slovenia on November 13 and Scotland on November 16.\n<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div readability=\"17.269565217391\">\n                                                                <b><a href=\"https:\/\/punchng.com\/author\/toyediran\">Tosin Oyediran<\/a><\/b><\/p>\n<p>Tosin Oyediran is a journalist with Punch Newspapers, bringing over eight years of newsroom experience to his coverage of politics, health, advocacy, sports, and entertainment. Known for sharp interviews and human-centered reporting, his work focuses on public accountability, civic issues, and the stories shaping everyday lives.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<p>Source: <\/p>\n<div class=\"nSourse\">Punch Newspapers &#8211; Latest News<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Switzerland captain, Granit Xhaka, and striker Breel Embolo will be eligible for national team selection next month after an investigation into their use of forged COVID-19 vaccination certificates. The Swiss&hellip; <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1986","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1986"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1986\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1986"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1986"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalnigerianews.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1986"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}