Leeds' Okafor says he won't play for Swiss again under Yakin

· BBC-Football

Leeds United forward Noah Okafor says he will not play for Switzerland again while Murat Yakin remains as head coach.

The 26-year-old has earned 26 caps for the Swiss national team since making his debut in 2019 but only featured for 19 minutes at the World Cup, coming off the bench in their last-32 win over Algeria.

In a statement released on his Instagram account on Thursday, Okafor said his decision was unrelated to his lack of game time, instead attributing it to how he feels he has been treated by the current leadership.

> "My decision has nothing to do with my playing time," Okafor wrote. "Things happened that hurt me deeply. Trust was broken. Commitments were not kept.

> "When I was allowed to play against Algeria, people reacted to minor mistakes far away from our goal in a way that hurt me deeply.

> "In the weeks that followed, I thought a lot and decided for myself that I no longer want to play for the national team under the current manager."

The Swiss FA was informed by Okafor on Thursday, with a spokesperson telling Reuters: "We respect his decision and wish him every success with his club."

Switzerland are next in action on 26 September, travelling to North Macedonia for their opening match of the 2026-27 Nations League.

Okafor joined Leeds from AC Milan in August 2025 for £18m.

Yakin has been head coach of Switzerland since August 2021.

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