Former Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been called a “b***h” by Fulham defender Joachim Andersen after they clashed on international duty.
The Gunners allowed the Switzerland international to sign for Bayer Leverkusen in July 2023 for a fee in the region of €25m.
Xhaka had an amazing first season in Leverkusen, helping Xabi Alonso’s side to their first ever Bundesliga title and only their second German Cup.
But the Swiss midfielder has now been labelled a “b***h” by current Premier League defender Andersen during an ill-tempered clash between Switzerland and Denmark in the Nations League.
Goals from Patrick Dorgu and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg gave the Danes a 1-0 win over the Swiss with referee Daniel Siebert giving out nine yellow cards.
Xhaka was booked for arguing with the referee in the final ten minutes and he was sent off just five minutes later when he received a second booking a challenge on Hojbjerg.
Andersen insisted that former Arsenal midfielder Xhaka had “lost his head” over the referee’s decision to play on while Breel Embolo was down injured during the closing exchanges, while branding him a “b***h”.
“He is a top footballer, but he is also a bit of a b***h,” Andersen said.
“We know Granit, and he can go to it once in a while and get a little angry on the pitch. That’s the way it is. He is a player I have a lot of respect for, and sometimes you can lose your head.
“I think he has been good at keeping calm for many years, but today he lost his head a little.”
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On the decision to play on while Embolo was down injured, Andersen continued: “There is no reason to kick the ball out. The rules are that you kick the ball out if it’s a head injury, and it wasn’t. I’m 100 percent sure that they wouldn’t have kicked the ball out either, if it was the other way around.”
Xhaka apologised for his part in Switzerland’s defeat, he said: “Defeats like this really hurt – I hold my hands up and apologise to the team.”
Speaking to Swiss outlet Blick, Xhaka added: “I’ve become calmer in recent years. But when a game goes as unfairly as it did today, I get very emotional. The word respect is very important in football. But what the Danish players showed today had nothing to do with respect.
“We were exemplary in the first half. When a Danish player went down, we played the ball out. In the second half, the Danish players saw that Breel was down. But they didn’t play the ball out and we conceded the 1-0 goal. The rest is history.
“I know it shouldn’t happen to me. But unfortunately there are moments when you lose yourself. It’s bitter for me and it’s bitter for the team. It shouldn’t have happened. But it happened and now we have to look forward.”
