Four years after the double-headed eagle scandal at the 2018 World Cup, Swiss international Granit Xhaka caused a stir again in the World Cup match against Serbia. This time, the 30-year-old Arsenal FC professional showed an obscene gesture and an ambiguous jersey action, which can also be understood as a political message for Kosovo’s struggle for independence.
However, this action by the former Bundesliga professional from Borussia Mönchengladbach after the 3-2 win against Serbia was so clever on Friday evening that the world association FIFA can hardly be prosecuted for it.
As the Swiss collectively cheered at reaching 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.
When asked about his action, Xhaka asserted at the press conference after 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 beginnings 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.
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 pack formation near the Serbian goal shortly before the end. Nevertheless, Xhaka said: “It was a game with a lot of emotions – but fair enough overall.”