Switzerland Today
Dear Swiss Abroad,
My passion for the game of football cooled down a bit at the age of nine when my coach advised me and my peers to throw ourselves on the ground and scream as soon as an opponent touched us. Even then, it seemed like an unethical instruction to give a kid's team.
Yesterday, the fate of the Swiss national team at the World Cup played out around a simulation of a foul. Although my impatience with simulations or flopping remains unchanged, I share the disappointment of Swiss fans regarding the refereeing decisions, without which the story could have been different.
Enjoy the read!
The Swiss national football team was eliminated in the quarter-finals of the World Cup by Argentina. The expected result, one might think. But the feeling of having been penalised by refereeing decisions prevails in Switzerland.
After equalising in the second half, at 1-1 Switzerland seemed fired up, if not for victory, at least for a hard-fought match against the reigning world champions. Then a VAR intervention turned a yellow card against Argentina into a yellow card for simulation against the Swiss player Breel Embolo. Having already been cautioned before, Embolo had to leave the field. Switzerland, left with ten players, conceded two goals in extra time.
The simulation was there, but the decision to have the VAR intervene on an anodyne action in the center of the field, in addition to the alleged indulgence of the referee towards the Argentines shown previously, sparked quite a bit of controversy. The first to complain was the Swiss coach Murat Yakin
“This decision changed the game, today football did not win,” he said after the defeat.
“With time we will find a way to appreciate the journey in the best World Cup in 72 years. But for now, regret prevails above all,” Swiss public broadcaster RSI wrote.
Around CHF40 million too much has been paid abroad in recent years in the form of pensions from the Old-Age and Survivors’ Insurance (AHV/AVS) and the Disability Insurance (IV). Around CHF17 million still remains to be recovered and CHF300,000 is gone for good.
The revelation was published in the Tamedia group newspapers, citing figures from the Central Compensation Office (CCO), which pays around CHF8 billion every year to people living abroad who worked in Switzerland.
Overpayments are mainly related to delays in reporting a death, a change of marital status or a change of address, especially when moving to a country with which Switzerland does not have a social security agreement. In some cases it is fraud, the Tamedia newspapers point out, citing the case of a man from Mali who pretended to live in Switzerland and was sentenced to reimburse CHF72,000.
The recovery of unduly paid funds is more complex abroad than in Switzerland, writes the CCO. A recent report by the Swiss Federal Audit Office points out that there is still a lot of room for improvement. However, the situation is not as bad as a few years ago. In 2020, the total amount of overpaid benefits amounted to almost CHF82 million. The introduction of some innovations, such as the automatic exchange of data, for example on deaths, with the authorities of different countries helped.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) has ruled against the Swiss Federal Court in the case of businessman Jean Claude Gandur in a legal battle between the latter and the newspaper Le Courrier.
Gandur had filed a complaint 11 years ago, in civil and criminal courts, following an article published in the context of the renovation of the Museum of Art and History in Geneva. The Swiss businessman’s foundation proposed to invest CHF40 million in the project in exchange for the possibility of exhibiting its collections. The article questioned the origin of the billionaire’s wealth, mentioning Gandur’s oil trading activities in Africa and hinted at alleged corruption linked to one of his companies.
The Federal Court had ruled that Le Courrier was guilty of defamation. According to the ECHR, however, the article was based “on an established factual basis, without resorting to unsubstantiated claims”, and there was a public interest in dealing with the patron’s assets.
According to the Strasbourg judges, the Swiss courts should have also taken freedom of expression into account and not just focused on defamation. The ECHR therefore ordered Switzerland to pay Le Courrier €52,600 in court costs and €4,000 as compensation for non-material damage.
Do you want to spend your holidays immersed in Swiss nature? As every year, Touring Club Switzerland (TCS) shared a reminder that it is possible to camp under the stars but strict rules must be respected.
Wild camping, which consists of spending the night in a tent, van or camper outside official facilities, is gaining popularity. But it is not possible everywhere in Switzerland. There is no uniform regulation at the federal level and the rules can change depending on the canton or municipality.
TCS therefore recommends contacting the municipality or the local police before settling in for the night. If it is private land, the owner’s authorisation is essential.
Wild camping is systematically prohibited in various protected areas, such as federal hunting reserves, wildlife reserves, the Swiss National Park and other protected natural areas. Bivouac, on the other hand, is generally tolerated above the tree line, provided that local regulations are respected. Finally, the golden rule is to respect nature and not to leave any trace of your passage.
Translated from Italian, sub-edited by Anand Chandrasekhar
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