Swiss coat of arms on national team jerseys – legal at last?
A Swiss ice hockey player in 2021
Keystone
Swiss national sports teams should be allowed to legally wear the Swiss coat of arms on their shirts in future. The Senate has adopted a motion to amend the Coat of Arms Protection Law accordingly.
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Ständerat will Schweizer Wappen auf Nati-Trikots erlauben
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On Wednesday it approved a motion by parliamentarian Damian Müller. The motion was prompted by recent appearances of the Swiss national ice hockey team, whose players appeared with the Swiss coat of arms on their jerseys.
According to Müller, the association was made aware of the improper use of the coat of arms back in 2018. The case is currently before the Federal Administrative Court.
The government had asked the Senate to reject the motion, saying sports associations are free to use the Swiss cross on their jerseys, but not the coat of arms. According to the government, the use of the Swiss cross on the coat of arms is reserved for the Swiss Confederation.
The Coat of Arms Protection Law protects communities in the use of their national emblems, the government said. At the same time, it protects against misleading misuse of symbols. In 2017, the corresponding provision was adopted almost unanimously by the Federal Assembly, the government wrote to the Senate.
However, Müller told the Senate that the use of the Swiss coat of arms by the national ice hockey team was “certainly not misuse”. “Let us correct this omission”. By 28 votes to ten with two abstentions, the Senate approved the motion, which still has to go to the House of Representatives.
A motion with the same wording by parliamentarian Matthias Aebischer is already pending there.
Translated from German by DeepL/ts
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