NEWNow you can listen to Pak Gazette articles!
An Olympic hockey coach admitted to using a fake vaccination card to coach his team at the Beijing Olympics four years ago.
Swiss ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer admitted he used a certificate falsely claiming he had been vaccinated against COVID-19 to bypass China’s strict travel restrictions.
Swiss public broadcaster SRF said it confronted Fischer with documents showing local authorities fined him nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) in 2023 for forging documents after purchasing the certificate on social media. SRF said it made its admission public shortly afterward.
CLICK HERE FOR MORE SPORTS COVERAGE ON PakGazette.Com
Coach Patrick Fischer of Switzerland reacts during the men’s Group A preliminary round match against the Czech Republic at the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games in Milan, Italy, on February 15, 2026. (EyesWideOpen/Getty Images)
In a statement late Monday, Fischer said he made a “serious mistake in this matter” by traveling to Beijing with the Swiss men’s team using false documentation.
“I’m very sorry that I let people down with this situation,” Fischer said. “I was in an extraordinary personal crisis because I didn’t want to get vaccinated. At the same time, I certainly didn’t want to let my team down at the Olympics.”
Fischer is one of the most successful Swiss hockey coaches of all time. He has been in the role since 2015 and has led the team to three Olympic Games, as well as winning three world championship silver medals.
Head coach Patrick Fischer of Team Switzerland trains on the ice during the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic Winter Games at the Milano Santagiulia ice hockey stadium in Milan, Italy, on February 8, 2026. (Gregory Shamus/Getty Images)
OLYMPIC GOLD WINNER DISCONNECTS NEGATIVE COMMENTS FROM ATHLETES ABOUT REPRESENTING US: ‘I THINK WE ARE THE BEST COUNTRY’
The team was eliminated in the quarterfinal round.
Ahead of the 2022 Olympics, China had some of the strictest COVID-19 rules in the world. He insisted that any athlete heading to the Games had to get vaccinated against COVID-19 or undergo a three-week quarantine in a hotel, as Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer did.
Switzerland will host the world championship next month. Fischer was already due to resign after that, and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation closed the matter.
Head coach Patrick Fischer of Team Switzerland reacts during the Men’s Group B preliminary round match between ROC and Switzerland at the Beijing 2022 Olympic Winter Games on February 9, 2022. (Xavier Laine/Getty Images)
CLICK HERE TO DOWNLOAD THE Pak Gazette APP
Fischer played for the Swiss national team in the 2002 and 2006 Olympics and also played for the country’s 1994 world junior team. He spent most of his career playing for EV Zug of the Swiss National League A, where his jersey number is retired.
