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Report nowPatrick Fischer speaks out publicly for the first time following his dismissal as national field hockey coach due to a falsified Covid certificate. The 50-year-old makes accusations against SRF - which is now responding.
Patrick Fischer breaks his silence. Almost two months after his dismissal as coach of the Swiss national ice hockey team, the Zug native publishes a 35-minute video interview on his YouTube channel. It is conducted by Peter Röthlisberger from Chefredaktion GmbH, a PR agency. The interviewer is the former editor-in-chief of Blick and was once the domestic editor-in-chief of Weltwoche.
In it, Fischer states that the momentous lunch with SRF editor Pascal Schmitz was an "off-the-record conversation", the content of which was not intended for the public.
As a reminder, Fischer had mentioned to Schmitz that he had traveled to the 2022 Olympic Games in China with a fake Covid certificate.
Fischer refers to an email from Schmitz to Finn Sulzer, Head of Media of the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation, in which the SRF editor assures him that he is aware of the off-the-record agreement and takes it seriously.
Röhtlisberger, who has the letter from Schmitz, quotes from the email in the interview and supports Fischer's statements: "I am writing to you regarding our 'off-the-record' conversation at the lunch table in Altstetten. I am very aware of the importance of an 'off-the-record' agreement and I take this seriously," Schmitz is said to have written to Sulzer.
Fischer therefore accuses the broadcaster of breaking the agreement: "I was irritated that SRF said afterwards that this was not the case," says the former national coach.
SRF has now responded to Fischer's statements and clarified in a press release: "SRF stands by its previous statement: there was no off-the-record agreement before the conversation with Patrick Fischer."
Instead, Sulzer attempted to assert an 'off-the-record' claim following the aforementioned lunch. "This led to the aforementioned email correspondence between Pascal Schmitz and the Head of Media."
In his reply, Pascal Schmitz would have referred to this subsequent claim and reproduced the association's wording. "A prior off-the-record agreement was thus not confirmed. In the same e-mail, Pascal Schmitz also made it clear that he cannot simply ignore the statements and that - in consultation with the editorial team - he wants to give Patrick Fischer and the association the opportunity to comment," SRF continued.
Swiss fans thank Patrick Fischer before the World Cup final against Finland.
KEYSTONE
Although the broadcaster confirms the passage from the email read out by Röhtlisberger, it suggests that Fischer's video interview apparently did not reproduce the entire content of Schmitz's letter.
In addition, SRF writes: "An off-the-record agreement must be prior, explicit and mutual - that is a recognized journalistic principle. This was not the case here. It is also crucial that the statement in question was made during a day of filming for a portrait, in a clearly recognizable professional situation in the presence of the head of media and a cameraman, and not in a previously agreed off-the-record conversation. Irrespective of this, the editorial team respected the subsequent reservation: The relevant statements were neither published as a quote nor was Patrick Fischer named as a source."
SRF rejects the accusations of having violated journalistic principles or breached an agreement and acknowledges that Patrick Fischer's assessment of the situation is different.
When asked by blue News, the Swiss Ice Hockey Federation referred to the ongoing investigation into the events. "The orderly processing of all facts in connection with Patrick Fischer's falsified Covid certificate is part of the administrative investigation, which is still ongoing. It serves to clarify the relevant processes and responsibilities," says Swiss Ice Hockey.
And further: "The investigation should take into account the relevant information while observing the legal limits. We do not comment publicly on details of individual steps in the investigation. We do not comment on interim results, internal discussions or individual persons. What is important is that the report will not be published - not even in excerpts - for reasons of personal privacy, data protection and due to labor law requirements. The relevant findings will be forwarded to the responsible bodies, in particular Swiss Sport Integrity (SSI)."
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