By Daily Sports on November 1, 2019
Arsenal captain Granit Xhaka says he “reached boiling point” following repeated threats to his wife and daughter, as he explained his angry confrontation with fans on Sunday.
The Swiss midfielder was booed while he walked off the pitch at Emirates Stadium, prompting him to cup his ear.
In an emotional statement, he said he had been “hurt deeply” by comments on social media and at matches recently.
They included ‘Kill your wife’ and ‘Wish that your daughter gets cancer’.
Breaking his silence for the first time since the incident, Xhaka, 27, said he got “carried away” and reacted “disrespectfully” to fans.
Arsenal manager Unai Emery had called for Xhaka to apologise for his reaction but the player instead said he was sorry if people had thought he was being disrespectful.
“The scenes that took place around my substitution have moved me deeply,” Xhaka said in statement on Instagram on Thursday. . “I love this club and always give 100% on and off the pitch.
“My feeling of not being understood by fans, and repeated abusive comments at matches and in social media over the last weeks and months have hurt me deeply.
“People have said things like, ‘We will break your legs’, ‘Kill your wife’ and “Wish that your daughter gets cancer’. That has stirred me up and I reached boiling point when I felt the rejection in the stadium on Sunday.
“In this situation, I let myself be carried away and reacted in a way that disrespected the group of fans that support our club, our team and myself with positive energy. That has not been my intention and I'm sorry if that's what people thought.
“My wish is that we get back to a place of mutual respect, remembering why we fell in love with this game in the first place. Let’s move forward positively together.”
It was not the first time Xhaka had been booed by his own fans this season, with Emery publicly defending the midfielder after a game against Aston Villa last month. (BBC)
•PHOTO: Granit Xhaka
Source Daily Sports
Posted November 1, 2019
You may also like...
Koscielny, Sokratis add to Arsenal injury crisis
Ballon d’Or: Brighton coach applauds Nnadozie
Haaland Out For ‘Several Weeks’ With Hip Injury...
Nigeria Expresses Interest To Bid For 2030 Commonwealth...
Guardiola Says ‘No Secrets’ To Man City Success...
Yusuf’s Eagles focus on Mali

NPFL: Rangers win big as Nasarawa shock Abia
Nigeria know World Table Tennis Champs foes today
Bayelsa athletics boss Oredipe maps out dev plans
Falcons stars dominate IFFHS Africa XI
Eguavoen backs NPFL talents for Nigeria squad despite CHAN failure
He’s very strong, Simeone returns Osimhen praise
Joshua boxing return still uncertain
NBA star Bane eyes Nigeria switch
Palmer 'very, very happy' at Chelsea, says Rosenior
AFCON 2025: VAR recording discloses what referee said before Morocco's penalty miss against Senegal
AFCON 2025 highlights: World-class stadiums, VAR drama, record attendance
Oliseh slams Osimhen for costing Eagles’ AFCON trophy
Rangers International going, going . . . (63,494 views)
Amaju Pinnick: A cat with nine lives (54,788 views)
Second Term: Amaju Pinnick, Other NFF Heavyweights Home to Roost •How Pinnick Broke the Jinx (52,684 views)
Current issues in Nigerian sports: Matters arising (52,345 views)
Sports Development: Zenith Bank on the zenith (52,277 views)
Missing $150,000 IAAF Grant: Solomon Dalung’s Hide and Seek game (52,188 views)
Gov. Abdullahi Ganduje’s solid footprints, commitment to sports development in Kano State (52,054 views)
NFF Presidency: Pinnick, Maigari, Ogunjobi, Okoye in Battle for Supremacy (51,610 views)
Olopade, BET9A wave of revolution in NNL (50,787 views)
Commonwealth Games 2018: Shame of Muhammadu Buhari, Solomon Dalung (49,316 views)
Ibrahimovic’s Man U exit: Whose decision is it? And in whose interest? (47,704 views)
John Mikel Obi: Segun Odegbami’s Outrageous Call! (47,173 views)