Xhaka tackles Swiss football official over dual national controversy
Swiss footballer Granit Xhaka has criticised Swiss football federation general secretary Alex Miescher for questioning whether the national team needs dual nationals.
This content was published on
3 minutes
SDA-ATS/sb
“He [Miescher] has disappointed future and current dual national players like myself,” he told the Swiss News Agency, SDA-ATS, in an interview on Saturday.
The Swiss midfielder, whose family comes from Kosovo but who was born in the Swiss city of Basel, said recent comments by Miescher had angered him.
After a recent World Cup match against Serbia, three Swiss footballers, two of whom are ethnic Albanians from Kosovo [Granit Xhaka and Xherdan Shaqiri], were fined by FIFA for making hand gestures of an Albanian national symbol to celebrate goals against Serbia.
In an interview with the Tages-Anzeiger newspaper on July 6, Miescher said “that incident shows that there’s a problem. We have to ask ourselves: do we want dual nationals?”
He suggested that the association could offer its support programme for young players only to those who drop their second nationality.
“I can see in his comments an idea that dual nationals are not prepared to do their utmost for Switzerland,” Xhaka declared. “This affects me and a number of other players with two nationalities directly. It sounds as if my colleagues and I didn’t give everything while wearing the Swiss jersey.”
“We are all Swiss, and we give everything for the Swiss team. We all know exactly what we owe to Switzerland, what this country has done for us and our families. My roots are in Kosovo, those of Breel Embolo are in Cameroon. Manuel Akanji comes from Nigeria and Ricardo Rodriguez from Chile and Spain, etc,” Xhaka declared.
An article in Sunday’s Sonntagszeitung said that around half of the 283,000 registered footballers in Switzerland had foreign origins and that only 64 of Switzerland’s 1,440 football clubs (professional and amateur) did not have any players whose parents had foreign roots.
In a written statement to SDA/ATS on Saturday, the Swiss football federation reiterated its support for integration and regretted the discriminatory tone of Miescher’s interview. It said the issue of ensuring that young national team players continue to represent Switzerland and do not opt for another country because they have a greater chance of playing at international level had been around for years.
It said the federation had been considering various options such as getting young players to sign a contract or to give up their second nationality when joining the national team training programme.
More
More
Eagle gesture puts spotlight on Swiss Kosovar community
This content was published on
“Albanian eagle” goal celebrations by Swiss footballers with ethnic Albanian heritage linked to Kosovo have sparked controversy.
Protein in abdominal fat could help shape obesity treatment
This content was published on
The study analysed fat cells from different locations in the body, and found that those in the abdomen have unique properties.
North African asylum claims fall after rapid Swiss processing
This content was published on
The accelerated procedure, now out of its test phase, has resulted in a significant drop in applications from North African countries.
This content was published on
The artist's song "The Code" focuses on their journey as a nonbinary individual. It is one of the favourites to win this year's contest.
Swiss climate activists block vehicles near Gotthard tunnel
This content was published on
Around ten climate activists briefly blocked the A2 motorway near the northern entrance of the Gotthard tunnel on Thursday.
Watches belonging to Michael Schumacher up for auction
This content was published on
Schumacher's family is auctioning off eight rare watches from his collection in Geneva. The Christie's auction will take place on Monday.
Joya Marleen and Baschi named best solo acts at Swiss Music Awards
This content was published on
St. Gallen singer Joya Marleen and Baschi from Basel were named artists of the year at the Swiss Music Awards 2024 on Wednesday night.
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.
Read more
More
Swiss FA considers forcing young footballers to drop a second nationality
This content was published on
Switzerland has to ask itself whether it should ban dual citizens from representing the national football team, says an official.
Albanian PM opens bank account for Swiss players’ FIFA fines
This content was published on
Albanian leader opens an account to enable people to contribute towards the FIFA fines to two Swiss football players of Albanian heritage.
Eagle gesture puts spotlight on Swiss Kosovar community
This content was published on
“Albanian eagle” goal celebrations by Swiss footballers with ethnic Albanian heritage linked to Kosovo have sparked controversy.
Swiss footballers fined by FIFA for Albanian double-eagle gesture
This content was published on
Xherdan Shaqiri, Granit Xhaka and Stephan Lichtsteiner will not be banned for their Albanian “double eagle” hand gesture.
You can find an overview of ongoing debates with our journalists here . Please join us!
If you want to start a conversation about a topic raised in this article or want to report factual errors, email us at english@swissinfo.ch.