Granit Xhaka is far from a spoiled player. Short-tempered, he lost the captaincy to himself at Arsenal a few years ago after confronting fans on the pitch while whistling at him. He was almost out of gunnersHe decided to stay and today is an important piece for Mikel Arteta, although little loved by the stands. Now, he is about to face a more complex obstacle.
According to the Daily Mail, Granit Xhaka is being investigated by the British authorities due to a potential involvement in a gambling scheme with links to the Albanian mafia. The 29-year-old midfielder was born in Basel and is a Swiss international, however, he comes from a family with origins in Albania and has never hidden his pride in that heritage, even causing controversy during the 2018 World Cup when he celebrated a goal. with a nationalist symbol of the country. .
Whistling to the captain, insults from players to fans and tears. Arsenal is on fire: on and off the pitch
Now, according to the news this Friday, Xhaka is under investigation for a yellow card he saw in Arsenal’s win against Leeds last season in December. With the gunners comfortably winning 4-1 and with the game fully controlled, The Swiss midfielder received an inexplicable yellow card, already in the last 10 minutes, for being late in converting a free kick in his own midfield. The suspicion arose from the high betting standards recorded on this match, especially the volume of bets, around 52 thousand pounds, on the possibility that Xhaka will see precisely a yellow card in the last 10 minutes.
The FA, the English Federation, has opened an investigation and has now handed over the case to National Crime Agencythe agency that investigates organized crime in the UK. But the bets placed on Betfair, the bookmaker in question, are just the tip of the iceberg of the whole story: Also according to the Daily Mail, the investigation has already found evidence that large sums of money were advanced in cryptocurrencies, a market that is not regulated in British territory, with much of this activity being recorded in Albania.
This symbol is a political message. And it may be fine for the Swiss.
In addition, the National Crime Agency is still trying to confirm suspicions that Alban Jusufi, a Swedish-Albanian striker who was suspended for five years for being convicted of match fixing, he bet big on Xhaka being shown a yellow card in the last 10 minutes of the game against Leeds. Jusufi, now 41, was sentenced by the Swedish court in 2017 after bribing AIK goalkeeper Kyriakos Stamatopoulos to make crucial mistakes against IFK Gothenburg.
Source: Observadora
