Granit Xhaka questioned by police over allegation of racial abuse at Heathrow

Granit Xhaka has been interviewed under police caution after a heated argument at Heathrow Airport on Monday evening during which he allegedly racially abused a British Airways employee.

The Arsenal midfielder disputes using such language and he said as much when he made a voluntary appearance at a west London police station later that night.

The 24-year-old has spoken to officials at Arsenal to give his version of the row at Heathrow’s Terminal 5 when he tried to see his girlfriend’s brother, Leonard Lekaj, on to a flight. Lekaj is a footballer who plays for FC Mönchengladbach in Germany’s sixth division.

Lekaj was stopped from boarding the flight after he missed the deadline for the check-in and Xhaka reacted particularly badly. He is alleged to have made the insulting remark – calling her “a fucking white bitch” – to a member of BA staff in German, and it was overheard by one of her colleagues. Metropolitan police officers were called to the scene and they took witness statements.

A Met spokesperson said: “Police were called at 19:29hrs on Monday 23 January following an allegation that a member of staff had been racially abused at Heathrow Airport, Terminal 5. The allegation was made by a third party. Officers attended and spoke with a man in his 20s. He was not arrested. He voluntarily attended a west London police station where he was interviewed under caution. Enquiries continue.”

Arsenal’s official position is that it is a private matter which is now in the hands of the police but it comes at a time when Xhaka is under scrutiny for his lack of discipline on the pitch. The Switzerland international, who moved to Arsenal from Borussia Mönchengladbach last summer for £30m, was sent off for a dangerous tackle on Burnley’s Steven Defour on Sunday, during his team’s narrow 2-1 win.

It was the second time that he had been dismissed in Arsenal colours, following his red card for a deliberate trip on Swansea City’s Modou Barrow last October. He now faces a four-match suspension. Xhaka was also sent off during Switzerland’s 2-0 win over Portugal last September.

Arsène Wenger was furious at Xhaka for his dismissal against Burnley and the manager took the unusual step of criticising one of his players in public. “He has to control his game and not punish the team with his lack of control and his tackling,” Wenger said. “We don’t encourage our midfielders to go down in tackles. We want them to stand up and not make these kind of fouls.”

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SOURCE: Theguardian