Swiss star accused of insulting Serbian rivals (VIDEO)

Tempers flared during a decisive World Cup match between Serbia and Switzerland

Arsenal midfielder Granit Xhaka has been accused of provoking Serbia by grabbing his crotch and wearing a politically charged t-shirt after his team, Switzerland, guaranteed qualification to the Qatar 2022 World Cup knockout phase on Friday.

The Swiss came back from 2-1 down to set up a last 16 meeting with Group H winners Portugal on Tuesday.

Xhaka was involved in a back-and-forth exchange with the Serbian bench during the match and grabbed his crotch.

“You can hear from my voice that I am hoarse. It is a game with a lot of emotion. That’s football. It was fair enough. We wanted to focus on football,” he said post-match.

He was defended by his manager, Murat Yakin, who claimed that it was a “normal exchange” between his player and the Serbian dugout.

“I saw Granit focus on football. It was a fair game. It was a normal exchange with a bit of emotions. It cost us a lot of power and a lot of emotions. We started well, took the lead but then we lost possession twice and fell behind,” Yakin said.

Xhaka is a menace