Switzerland knocks Serbia out of the World Cup
Xhaka provokes Serbs with ambiguous jersey
12/03/2022 12:58 am
In the turmoil of the Balkan wars, many Kosovars end up in Switzerland. Some of them rise to become the best footballers among the Confederates and contribute to a successful World Cup preliminary round. In the win once morest Serbia, however, players like Xhaka and Shaqiri take on the Serbs once more.
Four years following the double-headed eagle scandal at the 2018 World Cup, Swiss international Granit Xhaka caused a stir once more in the World Cup match once morest Serbia. This time, the 30-year-old Arsenal FC professional showed an obscene gesture and an ambiguous shirt action, which can also be understood as a message for Kosovo’s independence. However, this action by the former Bundesliga professional from Borussia Mönchengladbach following the 3-2 win once morest Serbia was so clever on Friday evening that the world association FIFA can hardly be prosecuted for it.
As the Swiss collectively cheered at qualifying for the round of 16, Xhaka put on his team-mate Ardon Jashari’s jersey with his name forward. The 20-year-old from FC Luzern is part of the Swiss squad in Qatar, but was not used in the three preliminary round games. Jashari is also the name of an independence fighter who fought for Kosovo’s independence from Serbia back in the 1990s. Adem Jashari founded the Albanian separatist militia “Kosovo Liberation Army” (KLA) and died in 1998 in an operation by Serbian anti-terrorist units.
Xhaka denies political symbolism
When asked regarding his action, Xhaka asserted at the press conference following the game: “It was definitely not a political message.” Jashari is a young player with whom he trains every day and who reminds him of the beginning of his own career. “I told him before the game that if I score a goal or we win, I’ll put his shirt on,” said Xhaka.
Like his team-mate Xherdan Shaqiri, the Swiss captain’s family hails from Kosovo. The republic has been independent since 2008, however, Serbia still considers it a part of its territory. Because of this conflict, there was a big scandal during the World Cup game between Switzerland and Serbia four years ago, because Xhaka and Shaqiri celebrated their two goals in the 2-1 Swiss victory with a double-headed eagle gesture – a symbol of the Delimitation of Kosovo from Serbia. Both were fined by FIFA at the time.
Hand in step and pack formations
Xhaka and Shaqiri were whistled at by Serbian fans as the team rosters were read out during Friday night’s heated rematch. Shaqiri celebrated his goal to make it 1-0 by holding his finger to his lips. Xhaka clashed with the Serbian bench in the second half. He grabbed his crotch and may now be prosecuted for this gesture.
In addition to these two scenes, there were a total of eleven yellow cards in the game and also a massive formation of a pack just before the end near the Serbian goal. Nevertheless, Xhaka said: “It was a game with a lot of emotions – but fair enough overall.”
