SRF draws the consequences Pascal Schmitz will no longer present "Schweiz aktuell" for the time being
SRF journalist Pascal Schmitz is no longer presenting "Schweiz aktuell" for the time being. This is due to racist Facebook posts from the past.
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- SRF presenter Pascal Schmitz is no longer presenting "Schweiz aktuell" for the time being.
- Former national field hockey team coach Patrick Fischer had informed Schmitz about his fake Covid certificate before he made the case public himself, thus beating SRF to the punch.
- On Wednesday, "Weltwoche" published old racist and offensive Facebook posts by Schmitz.
- Schmitz has already resigned as stadium announcer for the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers.
According to "Blick", SRF journalist Pascal Schmitz will no longer present "Schweiz aktuell" for the time being. It is unclear when he will return.
The background to this are racist, sexist and offensive posts on Facebook, which were made public by "Weltwoche" on Wednesday. As a result, Schmitz has already resigned from his position as stadium announcer for the Rapperswil-Jona Lakers.
"I would like to sincerely apologize to all the people who were offended by me in these posts," Schmitz is quoted as saying in a statement from the Lakers. He has since deleted the posts.
SRF distances itself
SRF has also distanced itself from Schmitz's posts. "SRF is in close contact with Pascal Schmitz and is analyzing the facts of the case and the current allegations. For reasons of personnel law, SRF is not providing any further details," SRF spokesperson Roger Muntwyler told Blick. Muntwyler also said that Schmitz had not been guilty of anything during his time at SRF.
Schmitz gained notoriety through his reporting on former national team coach Patrick Fischer. He himself had made it public that he had traveled to the 2022 Olympic Games in Beijing with a fake Covid certificate. It later became known that Fischer had pre-empted a report by SRF: he had previously shared the information with SRF journalist Pascal Schmitz over lunch.
