Hockey coach admits using a false COVID-19 vaccine certificate to enter China for Olympics

Head coach Patrick Fischer of Switzerland reacts during the group B match between Latvia and Switzerland at the ice hockey world championship in Riga, Latvia, May 23, 2023. (AP Photo/Roman Koksarov, File)

ZURICH — Swiss ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer has admitted he used a certificate falsely claiming he’d been vaccinated against COVID-19 to get around China’s travel restrictions for the 2022 Winter Olympics.

In a statement late Monday, Fischer said he made a “serious mistake in this matter” by traveling to Beijing with the Switzerland men’s team using false paperwork.

“I’m very sorry if I’ve 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 Olympic Games.”

Swiss public broadcaster SRF said it confronted Fischer with documents showing he was fined nearly 39,000 Swiss francs ($50,000) by local authorities in 2023 for document forgery after buying the certificate on social media. SRF said he went public with his admission shortly after.

Switzerland hosts the world championship next month. Fischer was already due to step down after that and the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation said it considers the matter closed.

Fischer is one of Switzerland’s most successful hockey coaches ever. He’s been in the post since 2015 and took the team to three Olympics as well as winning three silver medals at the world championship.

His team reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 Olympics, where COVID-19 testing was a requirement and the NHL stayed away because of the pandemic.

Ahead of the 2022 Olympics, China had some of the strictest COVID-19 rules in the world. It insisted any athletes heading to the Games had to either be vaccinated against COVID-19 or sit out a three-week quarantine in a hotel, as Swiss snowboarder Patrizia Kummer did.

The International Olympic Committee didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.