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Granit Xhaka continues to be under investigation by the English anti-crime. It is suspected of betting from Albania, the former striker of Vllaznia also appears on the scene

Politiko 2022-08-05 10:36:49

Granit Xhaka continues to be under investigation by the English anti-crime. It

Granit Xhaka remains under investigation for the questionable card in Arsenal's Premier League win over Leeds last season. Investigators are looking into a suspected criminal conspiracy involving the Albanian mafia and a former professional footballer who has already been convicted of match-fixing. Sportsmail revealed in June that the FA's investigation into Xhaka's bizarre yellow card for time-wasting last December had been handed over to the National Crime Agency, which leads the UK's fight against serious and organized crime, and could now we reveal further details of an extraordinary case.

The FA's investigation was sparked by suspicious betting patterns that emerged at the end of Arsenal's 4-1 win at Elland Road last December, with £52,000 staked on Xhaka being booked in the final 10 minutes of the game. Xhaka was booked by referee Andre Marriner for time-wasting in the 86th minute after he delayed taking a free-kick despite Arsenal winning 4-1 and in full control. Video footage of the incident shows Xhaka standing on the ball deep in his own half for around 20 seconds before being penalised, while there were plenty of examples of him wasting time earlier in the game.

The exceptionally high trading volume on the Betfair betting exchange may have only been the tip of the iceberg. Sportsmail writes that NCA investigators have uncovered evidence of significant betting on cryptocurrencies in markets that are not regulated in this country, with most of the activity thought to have taken place in Albania.

The NCA is also looking into claims that Alban Jusufi, a Swedish-Albanian striker who was jailed for five years for match-fixing by Swedish courts in 2017, made large sums betting that Xhaka would be punished. The 41-year-old was found guilty along with former Manchester City midfielder Dickson Etuhu of bribing AIK Gothenburg goalkeeper Kyriakos Stamatopoulos with £150,000 not to perform ahead of a derby against IFK Gothenburg in May 2017. The match ended up being postponed by the Swedish FA after it was reported that the match had been fixed.

Granit Xhaka continues to be under investigation by the English anti-crime. It

Xhaka, who is expected to play for Arsenal at Crystal Palace on Friday, was born in Basel and plays for Switzerland. But he is proud of his Albanian heritage and his brother Taulanti has won 31 international caps for the country. During the 2018 World Cup in Russia, Xhaka and Switzerland teammates Xherdan Shaqiri and Stephan Lichtsteiner were fined by FIFA for making a hand gesture to represent Albania's national eagle symbol during Switzerland's 2–1 win over Serbia.

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