Noah Okafor has announced he will not play again for Switzerland under the leadership of Murat Yakin, citing a breakdown in trust with the 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, as reported by BBC Sport.
“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.”
Leeds manager Daniel Farke has promised to support Okafor, who joined the club from AC Milan for £18m in August 2025, stating “we have a home here for Noah” and backing him to be a “key player” in the Premier League.
“He came to inform me and explained the reasons why, and I appreciate that he spoke with me beforehand and I was well informed,” Farke said.
“It’s more or less Noah’s decision, he has to decide what is best at this stage for his career. All I can say is we have a home here for Noah, where he feels really comfortable, appreciated, and for us he will be a key player.
“What he decides with his international career, with the national team – that’s totally up to him. I don’t want to get in the way. I think it’s more or less for Noah’s family to decide what is best.”
Switzerland are next in action on 26 September, travelling to North Macedonia for their opening match of the 2026-27 Nations League.
Yakin has been head coach of Switzerland since August 2021.
