Crisis is coming to a head
In Switzerland, the record champions are at risk of crashing
April 25, 2026 – 9:01 a.mReading time: 3 minutes
It’s not FC Basel or Young Boys Bern that have the most championship titles in Switzerland, but rather the Grashoppers from Zurich. Today the former top club has big problems.
There are still five games left to play, but Grashopper Club Zurich’s nerves are already on edge. The club has lost five of the last six league games and was also eliminated from the cup. In the relegation round – in Switzerland the league is divided into two in the final phase – GC Zurich is second to last. Although the lead over the direct relegation place is eight points, the gap to a non-relegation place is seven points. The Grasshoppers would currently have to go to the Barrage, the Swiss equivalent of relegation, for the third time in a row.
The mood among the supporters is at rock bottom. After the loss in the cup semi-finals last week, a few of them threw flares onto the field and later onto the team bus. Barriers are also said to have flown onto the car.
The players were only able to leave the stadium with police protection. The club reacted to the events in a statement: “We understand the great disappointment over yesterday’s cup defeat. The team, the club and the entire club environment also share this. However, this incident crossed a clear line: This behavior is shameful and in no way acceptable.” The situation for the Swiss record champions (27 titles) and record cup winners (19 titles) has rarely been so critical.
The frustration of many fans is also directed against the construct to which their club belongs. Because GC Zurich was bought by the owners of the MLS club Los Angeles FC a little over two years ago. In addition, FC Bayern Munich is a partner club of GC through the joint cooperation project “Red and Gold”, which is why talents such as Jonathan Asp Jensen and Nestory Irankunda are or were loaned to Zurich.
This system is a thorn in the side of the active fan scene of the Grasshoppers, Sector IV. “Since the change of ownership to LAFC in January 2024, half a dozen coaches, several sports directors and various office employees have been replaced. However, the promises made with the takeover have never come close to being kept,” criticized Sector IV on its website. “We’re no longer watching, it’s time for LAFC to make way for new investors from Switzerland.”
Criticism of the sports director: “He decides alone. And that’s not good”
But the mood hasn’t just been tense since the cup exit. In March, coach Gerald Scheiblehner had to leave after less than a year in office. The Swiss sports director Alain Sutter, who has only been at the club since the summer of 2025, became the focus of criticism. The accusation: Scheiblehner is not the problem, but Sutter’s squad planning. Ex-GC striker Kubilay Türkyilmaz criticized in his column for the newspaper “Blick”: “This team has neither enough quality nor character.” He described Scheiblehner’s dismissal as “hasty”. Sutter lacks a counterpart. “He decides alone. And that’s not good,” wrote Türkyilmaz.
