Swiss Ice Hockey is scheduled to host the world championships in May, but faces questions over a coach’s falsification of Olympic documents.
Published April 14, 2026
Swiss ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer has admitted that he used false proof that he had been vaccinated against the coronavirus to circumvent China’s travel restrictions for the 2022 Winter Olympics, which he was leading his country to.
Fischer, who remains in charge of the Swiss national team, said in a statement that he had made a “serious mistake in this matter” by traveling to Beijing with the men’s team using false documents.
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“I am very sorry if I have let people down in this situation,” Fisher said. “I was in a very 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.”
Swiss public broadcaster SRF said in a statement that after Fischer bought the certificate on social media, it confronted him with documents showing that he had been fined about 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) by local authorities in 2023 for forging documents. According to SRF, he confessed shortly after.
Switzerland will host the World Championships next month. Fischer is already scheduled to resign, and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation has said it considers the matter resolved.
Fischer is one of the most successful hockey coaches in Swiss history. He has held the position since 2015, leading the team to three Olympic Games and winning three silver medals at the World Championships.
His team reached the quarterfinals of the 2022 Olympics, where COVID-19 testing was required and the National Hockey League was canceled due to the pandemic.
Ahead of the 2022 Olympics, China had some of the world’s strictest coronavirus prevention regulations in place. Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kumar has insisted that athletes heading to competitions must either be vaccinated against the coronavirus or undergo a three-week quarantine in a hotel.
The International Olympic Committee did not respond to requests for comment.
