Picture Credit: Twitter
Switzerland and Serbia had an absolutely thrilling final group game in FIFA World Cup 2022. The Swiss emerged victorious with a 3-2 result but after the game were caught in a controversy involving their captain Granit Xhaka.
Both these teams started the game on an incredible note with the Swiss opening the scoring thanks to Xhedran Shaqiri’s goal. Then six minutes later Aleksander Mitrovic levelled for Serbia with a clinical header. Soon the Serbs doubled their lead with Dusan Vlahovic’s goal. Then the game once again found equilibrium as Breel Embolo scored just before half-time.
Entering the second half, the Swiss found the winning goal with Remo Freuler’s strike. But towards the end of the match when Xhaka was seen taking off his Switzerland jersey to reveal a t-shirt with the words 'Jashari' written on it. Switzerland and Serbia don’t have a massive football rivalry in recent years despite being more than 600 miles apart but have some differences stemming from the Yugoslav Wars of the 1990s.
'Jashari' in the context of the war refers to Adem Jashari the late founder of the Kosovo Liberation Army, which attacked the Yugoslavian armies leading to countless deaths and mass exodus in the region. But speaking after the match, the Arsenal midfielder stated that there was no "political background to it whatsoever", stating it was for Switzerland team-mate Ardon Jashari. "Ardon is part of our squad and we spend a lot of time together. I told him if we won I would wear his shirt."
Switzerland manager Murat Yakin said he will "wait and see" if action is taken against Xhaka. "We will enjoy this moment, it cost us a lot of emotions and energy. It was a fair match," he said. "Before the game, a lot of people were talking about the situation but we were able to face that challenge. We are happy we are moving on. Everything else is speculation and we will wait and see."