In a recent unusual update, ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer admitted he used a certificate falsely claiming he had been vaccinated against COVID-19 to circumvent China’s travel restrictions for the 2022 Winter Olympics, where he led his country.
In a statement, Fischer, who is still in charge of the Swiss team, said he made a “serious mistake” in this matter by traveling to Beijing with the men’s team using false papers.
“I am very sorry if I have disappointed people with this situation,” Fischer said. “I was in an extraordinary personal crisis because I didn’t want to be vaccinated.”
“At the same time, I certainly didn’t want to let my team down at the Olympics,” he added.
In addition, Swiss public broadcaster SRF said it confronted Fischer with documents showing that he had been fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) by local authorities in 2023 for falsifying documents after purchasing the certificate on social media, and made his confession public shortly afterwards.
Hockey World Cup:
Swiss ice hockey will host the World Championships in May, but is facing questions about the coach’s forged Olympic credentials.
Fischer is one of Switzerland’s most successful hockey coaches ever. Since 2015, he has taken the team to three Olympic Games and won three silver medals at the World Championships.
His team reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 Olympics, where COVID-19 testing was a requirement and the National Hockey League stayed away because of the pandemic.
As of the 2022 Olympics, China had some of the strictest COVID-19 rules in the world, insisting that athletes attending the games either have to be vaccinated against COVID-19 or quarantine in a hotel for three weeks, as Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer did.
Notably, the hockey leader, Fischer, was already on the verge of resigning following the news, and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation said it considers the matter closed.
