Swiss Coach Dismissed Over Fake COVID Certificate

Swiss ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer, who led the national men's team at the 2022 Winter Olympics in Beijing, has been dismissed by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation after admitting he used a falsified COVID-19 vaccination certificate to enter China.

The federation announced the decision on Wednesday, reversing its earlier stance that the matter was resolved following Fischer's admission. Fischer, who had served as head coach since 2015, confessed in a statement late Monday that he traveled to Beijing with false paperwork to avoid China's strict pandemic entry requirements. He purchased the certificate on social media and was fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs, about 50,000 U.S. dollars, by local authorities in 2023 for document forgery. Swiss public broadcaster SRF confronted him with the documents, prompting his public acknowledgment shortly afterward.

"I made a serious mistake in this matter," Fischer said. "I'm very sorry if I've disappointed people with this situation. 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 Olympic Games."

China enforced some of the world's toughest...