Scandal doubles! Embolo admits fake Covid certificates after Xhaka
Switzerland's Covid certificate scandal has claimed a second star: Breel Embolo has admitted to using fake certificates, days after captain Granit Xhaka did the same.
Details: Swiss outlet 20 Minuten reports that Embolo accepted a penal order over forged Covid certificates from the pandemic era, effectively admitting the offence. It follows Xhaka's confession earlier this week that he obtained a fake vaccination certificate in 2022 while at Arsenal. Both players have been left out of Switzerland's squad for the first four Nations League matches by mutual agreement with the federation.
The affair has rocked Swiss football. The Lucerne public prosecutor's office is investigating, with a local doctor at the center of the case, and Xhaka is expected to give evidence in early October. The Sunderland captain, Switzerland's record appearance holder with 152 caps, apologized publicly, saying he was deeply unsettled at the time. Under Swiss law, document forgery of this kind can carry anything from a fine to, in theory, a prison term, though experts consider a harsh sentence unlikely. For the national team, losing its captain and its most experienced forward at once is a sporting nightmare before the campaign has even begun.
It's worth noting that both players have cooperated with the authorities, which should soften the consequences. But the reputational damage is done: Switzerland, quarterfinalists at the World Cup, now face their Nations League group without the two leaders who defined an era of the national team.
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Miguel Solomons
Dailysports's expert
