Ice Hockey Coach Falsely Claimed He Got Covid Vaccine to Get Into 2022 Olympics Amid ‘Personal Crisis’

Yahoo Sports23h ago2 min readOriginal source →

TL;DR

Swiss ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer admitted to using false documents to claim he was vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to participate in the 2022 Winter Olympics. He faced a fine of nearly 39,000 Swiss francs for document forgery and is expected to step down after the upcoming world championship.

YouTube/Swiss Life Schweiz Swiss ice hockey coach **Patrick Fischer** is coming clean after he used false documents claiming he was vaccinated against Covid-19 in order to get to the 2022 Winter Olympics. The athlete, 50 — who previously played in the 2002 and 2006 Olympic Games — said in a statement on Monday, April 13, according to the Associated Press, that he made a “serious mistake” by traveling to Beijing with the Switzerland men’s team that year. The 2022 Winter Olympics were held in Beijing, China, that February, when travel restrictions and other precautions were still in place. At the time, the Winter Games had strict Covid-19 requirements in place. “I’m very sorry if I’ve disappointed people with this situation,” Fischer said, per the AP. “I was in an extraordinary personal crisis because I didn’t want to be vaccinated.” “At the same time,” he continued, “I certainly didn’t want to let my team down at the Olympic Games.”

Paul Hanna/UPI/Newscom/The Mega Agency According to the news organization, Fischer — who allegedly purchased the certificate on social media — was confronted by Swiss public broadcaster SRF with documents showing he was fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) in 2023 for document forgery. Fisher, who was named head coach of the Swiss national team in December 2015, is reportedly expected to step down after Switzerland hosts the world championship next month. The Swiss Ice Hockey Federation said it considers the matter of his false Covid vaccine docs closed, though, according to the AP. Fischer is considered one of Switzerland’s most successful hockey coaches.