Swiss Olympic Director Roger Schnegg talks about the Patrick Fischer case on SRF's "Club" and reveals that the IOC also contacted the Swiss federation.
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- Because it became known that Patrick Fischer traveled to the 2022 Olympic Games with a fake Covid certificate, he was released by the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation.
- On SRF's "Club", Swiss Olympic Director Roger Schnegg talks about the former national ice hockey coach and makes it clear: "This was not a gentlemanly offense."
- Schnegg also confirms that the IOC also contacted the Swiss federation and demanded that the situation be dealt with in a serious manner.
The confession of national ice hockey coach Patrick Fischer, who entered China in 2022 using a fake Covid vaccination certificate in order to take part in the Olympic Games in Beijing, has been making waves for a week now.
Swiss Olympic Director Roger Schnegg has now confirmed to SRF that the IOC also got involved in the case and knocked on the Swiss federation's door. "The IOC contacted us, I got a phone call from the person responsible," Schnegg told the "Club".
"He wanted to find out what was going on here. They expected us to take care of it and to look at it seriously. It was immediately an international matter because it was about the Olympic Games." However, no demands were made by the IOC.
"You wouldn't discuss it with a bank"
Schnegg believes that the ice hockey association's decision to release Fischer as national coach was the right one. "We did not exert any pressure. But we can understand the decision and support it," says the Swiss Olympic Director.
Like all delegation members at the Olympic Games, Fischer had signed the conditions of participation. "He has confirmed that he complies with the entry conditions and ethics statutes. He did not do that. It was impossible to estimate the consequences if this had been discovered. But I assume that he certainly wouldn't have been on the sidelines."
Whether the team or the delegation would have been excluded from the games or sanctioned is open to speculation. "But as strict as the measures in China were, I wouldn't rule it out," added Schnegg, who also confirmed that he had not received any reactions from China to date.
The Swiss Olympic Director, who will probably continue in his role until the end of the year, refuses to trivialize the incident: "This was not simply a gentlemanly offence. Fischer in particular, who stood up very strongly for his values, took a great risk for himself, but also for the team and the entire Swiss delegation. That is a serious matter, especially for such a publicly popular figure who is also a role model."
Schnegg is also certain that such a breach of trust between employer and employee would not even be discussed in other industries: "At a bank, there would be no discussion in the "club", but it would be quite clear: 'This person is not acceptable'."
