German Football Association bans coach for using fake Covid-19 vaccine certificate

A German football coach was banned from the sport for a year and fined 20,000 euros ($22,564) on Wednesday for falsifying Covid-19 vaccination certificates to claim he was fully vaccinated against the infection.

Markus Anfang was suspended in November after it was found that he and his assistant coach Florian Junge, who was also fired, used falsified certificates.

To avoid being quarantined as contact cases, they also tried to deceive the local health authority.

Florian Junge was handed a ten-month suspension and a 3,000-euro fine by the German Football Association (DFB).

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As per reports, the matter was first brought to light in November of last year, after which Anfang and Junge denied any wrongdoings. However, following the allegations, both Anfang and Junge were forced to resign from their respective positions.

Following an investigation into the matter, it was revealed that the two officials had used fake vaccination certificates at the club to avoid virus testing. Later both parties accepted the charges.

Meanwhile, Anfang and Junge’s sentences will be transformed to probation in June of this year, allowing them to begin searching for jobs before the start of the next season.