Swiss report

No season wildcard for Hirscher after all?

Will there be no season wildcard for Marcel Hirscher after all?(Bild: Miles Holden / Red Bull Content Pool)

The FIS ski association has apparently decided to revise the rules for awarding wildcards, reports "Blick". This also has an impact on Marcel Hirscher's plans. The "New Dutchman" will therefore probably no longer receive a season wildcard. 

In future, special permits will probably have to be reapplied for from the FIS race directorate before each race. This news is also likely to have an impact on Hirscher's comeback.

After all, the ski association announced in July that athletes who have celebrated great successes in the past, as is of course the case with Hirscher, will be able to apply for a wildcard for the entire season after returning from a break from competition of two to ten years.

Resistance was already looming
Hirscher had also started the preparations for his comeback with this certainty. After all, the 35-year-old did not take part in the competitions in New Zealand, where he would otherwise have been able to collect important FIS points.

However, opposition to the wildcard rule began to emerge soon after the announcement. Several athletes and also ÖSV Managing Director Christian Scherer attacked the FIS fiercely. FIS President Johan Eliasch therefore announced that the "exact interpretation of the wild card" would be discussed again.

Together with the athletes' representatives Verena Stufer and Leif Christian Nestvold Haugen, this has also been done in the past few days. An official announcement has not yet been made, but "Blick" reports that the season wildcard is off the table. In addition, an application for special approval should also be possible for a maximum of 20 races. Despite everything, Hirscher should not be too worried despite the new turbulence.