July 2 – Swiss captain Stephan Lichtsteiner has opened up for the first time about being sanctioned for the controversial Albanian eagle salutes during his country’s group game against Serbia.
Along with Xherdan Shaqiri and Granit Xhaka, Lichtsteiner escaped a possible two-match ban but the trio were fined by FIFA for unsporting behaviour.
While Shaqiri and Xhaka have Kosovo-Albanian heritage, Lichtsteiner came out in support of them by making the same gesture.
He is banned from Switzerland’s last-16 tie against Sweden for picking up his second yellow card in the last group match against Costa Rica and in an interview with Switzerland’s Tagesanzeiger newspaper explained why he decided to back Xhaka and Shaqiri in marking their goals with a pointed reference to their roots.
“It wasn’t not a bad gesture or anything,” said Lichtsteiner. “It was just joy knowing qualification for the knockout stages was very close. It was so emotional, none of what happens then is planned. It’s about pressure, about emotions.
“We knew we were under pressure and had to win. If I’m not in solidarity as captain, who else is? If you do not care for your colleagues, friends, and loved ones, even if you make yourself unpopular, you have little value as a human being. It is an act of solidarity. It welded us together even more.”
The 34-year-old defender, who has just joined Arsenal, insists the jubilation was not planned and his reaction was not a deliberate political act.
“We are a country with a lot of multiculturalism. I know that the topic may have polarised opinion. But I stand up for Swiss values and see that they are defended. We have a country that works so well. But I understand that not everyone shares my opinion. I accept other opinions and attitudes.”
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