National team hockey coach banned through 2030 over forged Covid certificate used for Beijing Olympics

The IIHF has closed the book on one of Swiss hockey's messiest scandals, suspending former national team coach Patrick Fischer for four years.

The ban keeps the 51 year old out of any national team role until 2030, a punishment that traces straight back to the forged Covid certificate he used to get into China for the 2022 Beijing Olympics.

News of the suspension first broke through the NZZ before SRF confirmed the details on Thursday.

The IIHF wrapped up its investigation and handed down the four year penalty, which applies only to international coaching duties.

Club hockey remains untouched for now.

Fischer's fall from grace has been swift and, for a lot of Swiss fans, hard to watch.

He spent roughly a decade behind the national bench, helped the program to a silver medal finish, and built a reputation as one of the more respected voices in European hockey.

That all unraveled in April when the federation abruptly dismissed him just weeks before Switzerland hosted the World Championship, right as the certificate issue went public.

The bigger question now shifts to Swiss Sport Integrity, which is reviewing whether to mirror the IIHF's ruling.

If it does, Fischer could effectively be locked out of coaching in Switzerland at every level, club included, since the federation president has already signaled the case was handled too lightly the first time around.

For a coach whose playing career included Swiss championships with both Lugano and Davos and a couple of Olympic appearances of his own, the fall is jarring.

Whether he resurfaces behind an NLA bench once the dust settles is quickly becoming one of the more interesting storylines in Swiss hockey heading into the fall.

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