Threats against the family: how a check changed Fabrice Herzog’s life

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When a player’s wife has to worry on match nights that her husband will not get home safely. Or when the two children can no longer wear their clothes with their father’s name because otherwise they will be insulted. When complete strangers throw death wishes in the family’s face. This burns deep in the hearts and minds.

It changes the family and their lives. That of Fabrice Herzog and his wife Tamara for three years now. The reason for this: a check at rush hour. Herzog was still playing for HC Davos when he controlled defender Eric Blum (37) in a game against SCB in February 2021. He later ended his career. Herzog received eight suspensions.

The 29-year-old is labeled as a villain in the media. He himself suffers in silence, his loved ones with him. Herzog is a reserved, introverted, thoughtful young man. The image that is painted of him does not fit the person and the player in any way. His wife describes him as calm and pleasant. Never in their worst imagination could they have imagined the wave of hatred that would come their way.

The family can deal with the prejudices in some way. “But I have difficulty with it when the line between expressions of opinion and personal hate messages becomes blurred in the anonymity of the internet,” says Tamara Herzog. Her husband, who has played for EV Zug since 2021, deletes his social media profiles because they are flooded with bad news.

Shocking incident at the airport

Her daughter (8) and son (5) witness an incident that got under their father’s skin. Tamara Herzog waits with the children at Kloten Airport for the return of her true love after his national team participation in the Olympic Games in Beijing in 2022. At the joyful moment of the reunion, a complete stranger comes to the family. “He shouted in our direction that the plane with me on board had crashed.” The 1.90 meter tall striker says this calmly today, but at the time it was a bit of a shock. “It was intense. Our children experienced hatred for the first time. And we wondered what such words could do.”

Daughter and son do not understand why father has so many sad days and why they are no longer allowed to wear their uniforms with his name on it. Or why her mother has hardly been to a NL match for three years, while her heart beats for ice hockey. Because the troublemakers don’t stop at the family. “At one point we became afraid of being in the crowd,” the 31-year-old admits, “because it’s a balancing act between how seriously to take certain threats.”

The family is made to understand that they know where the Zug striker parked his car so that they could wait for him after the matches and beat him up so that his career would end. And so on match nights, Tamara Herzog always stays awake until he gets home. She couldn’t sleep beforehand anyway.

Herzog sometimes feels uncomfortable on the ice

Fabrice Herzog often struggles and worries. Because that one check changed his family’s life so much. But also because it has influenced him on the ice ever since. “Not a day goes by that I don’t think about the incident,” he openly admits. “Since then I have struggled to play in front of a large audience. When I’m on the phone with the team before and after the game, I feel exposed and therefore uncomfortable. His wife no longer goes to the stadium with her daughter and son, so Herzog does not have to worry. “If I knew my family was in the stands, I would be constantly afraid something was going to happen.”

The Herzogs don’t want to arouse pity or complain. But simply show that their solidarity gives them the strength to deal with the culture of abuse that is clearly part of society today. The certain restrictions are the way in which the family has been able to deal with the still difficult situation in their private life.

What it has meant to Herzog as a player is a challenge for him. He can’t talk about the check for long. At the EVZ, however, he found a pillar of support in the then assistant coach Josh Holden (46, Ka/Sz) whom he could confide in. Holden’s reputation as a player is once equally tarnished and his criminal record is long. He knows what Herzog is going through. Holden helps him not lose focus on his game.

Herzog has adjusted and improved his game

The EVZ attacker has not received a suspension for almost three years. But he impresses with his strength in front of goal and important goals. He has adapted and improved his game. He skips checks “because I don’t know what move the opponent will make at the last minute. That’s what I’ve had in mind ever since.” He owes his success in his development to coach Dan Tangnes (44, no.), whose coaching is unlike any previous one.

Because even as a junior, the tall duke was put in a drawer. “A player of my stature was always told to play hard. If I didn’t, they said I wouldn’t be used anymore.” Tangnes, on the other hand, simply expects his protégé to play a physically consistent game that allows him to separate the opponent from the puck.

The Herzogs feel no anger because they have been forced into a life of worry by the threatening and indignant society. Or because existential fears and many questions have arisen. As long as the case has not been legally closed, they cannot complete it. “Family life must continue somehow until the day of decision,” says Tamara Herzog. “The kids help us have a good time. But all this has broken our hearts.” But not her deep love.

As young parents through ups and downs

Tamara has known Fabrice since she was a teenager because he played with her younger brother, ex-EVZ goalkeeper Gianluca Hauser (29), at the Pikes in Thurgau and later at the Zug juniors. They became a couple on New Year’s Eve 2014. In the fall of 2015, when he was twenty years old, Herzog made a romantic proposal to his girlfriend, and two months later they married in a civil ceremony. “I was pregnant,” smiles Tamara Herzog. Surprising, because the couple actually has very different plans, such as going on a trip, but they are now just making up for that as a family.

“We came together so young and have been through ups and downs together,” says the mother of two. Her husband adds: “We are growing together. We told each other that we would always be there for each other and support each other.” The familiarity of their relationship is noticeable in every conversation, as is the deep understanding. On one of their trips, they also celebrate their wedding ceremony in the summer of 2023, in a white dress and suit on a dream beach. “Until shortly beforehand, we didn’t even know if it would take place because of the weather.” But the sun comes out and shines as Fabrice and Tamara seal their love. A love that carries them through difficult times.

Source : Blick