Swiss national hockey team coach Patrick Fischer has admitted to using a fake coronavirus vaccination certificate to circumvent Chinese travel restrictions ahead of the 2022 Winter Olympics.
Fischer said in a statement that he had made a "serious mistake" by traveling to Beijing with the Swiss national team using false documentation.
"I'm very sorry for disappointing people. I was in a personal crisis because I didn't want to be vaccinated and at the same time I didn't want to disappoint my team at the Olympics," he said.
Switzerland is hosting the World Championship next month. It was previously announced that Fischer would leave the national team after the tournament, and the Swiss hockey association said it considered the matter closed.
Fischer is one of Switzerland's most successful hockey coaches. He has held the position since 2015, has led the team to three Winter Olympics, and has won three silver medals at world championships.
His team reached the quarterfinals at the 2022 Games, where COVID-19 testing was mandatory.
Before the Winter Olympics, China had some of the strictest rules in the world. It insisted that all athletes coming to the Games must be vaccinated against the coronavirus or spend three weeks in quarantine in a hotel.
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