Granit Xhaka Excluded from Switzerland National Team Camp

Granit Xhaka will sit out Switzerland’s latest national team camp after the Swiss Football Association confirmed he will not travel to Belek, Turkey, this week, following his public comments about his vaccination status.

In a statement, the federation said: “Following his personal statement regarding his vaccination status, Granit Xhaka will not participate in the men’s national team’s upcoming gathering.” The decision, it stressed, was taken in agreement with the player.

Swiss FA president Peter Knabel backed the move and underlined the need to draw a line under the debate for now. “We welcome the fact that Granit is taking this step and is prepared to fully clarify the situation,” Knabel said. The two parties, he added, had “mutually concluded that it was in the team’s best interest to proceed with this gathering without him.”

The message from the FA is clear: cool the noise, protect the group. “Our priority now is to calm the situation and focus entirely on the team and the upcoming Uefa Nations League fixtures,” Knabel said.

Those fixtures come quickly. Switzerland open their Nations League campaign away to North Macedonia on Saturday, then head to Scotland on September 29. The schedule then swings back to Lucerne, where the Swiss will host Slovenia and North Macedonia on October 3 and 6.

By then, the Xhaka question will be waiting for them again. “At the end of this international window we will reassess the situation with Granit and discuss the next steps,” Knabel confirmed.

Switzerland are also due to meet Slovenia on November 13 and Scotland on November 16 in the same competition. Whether their long-time midfield leader is back in the fold by then is now one of the storylines shadowing their Nations League campaign.