England semi-final ref was involved in match fixing scandal and enraged Jude Bellingham
England have been told the official that will take charge of their Euro 2024 semi-final against the Netherlands in Dortmund but UEFA’s call will unlikely go down well with Jude Bellingham
German referee Felix Zwayer will take charge of England ’s Euros semi final – despite having history with Jude Bellingham.
England star Bellingham was fined £34,000 for post match remarks about Zwayer after Borussia Dortmund lost to Bayern Munich in 2021 following a controversial penalty decision. Zwayer had been involved in a match fixing scandal and served a six month ban in 2005 after accepting a £250 bribe from fellow referee Robert Hoyzer.
Bellingham brought up the match fixing story during a post-match interview and was subsequently punished by the German FA. Bellingham fumed at the time: “It hits him and I don’t even think he’s looking at the ball but you know you can look at a lot of the decisions in the game. You give a referee that has match-fixed before, the biggest game in Germany what do you expect?”
Norwegian TV journalist Jan Aage Fjortoft, who conducted the interview, has piled into the debate over the appointment. Fjortoft said: “I am not sure what UEFA are thinking by putting Zwayer at the England-game. Back in 2021 Bellingham told me this after the game. And was fined €40,000 by German football officials.”
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Zwayer, 43, is regarded by UEFA as one of their top officials and they insist that is why he is in charge. Bellingham has already been hit with a £25,000 fine and one match ban suspended for a year after making a gesture following his late leveller with Slovakia.
Speaking about that decision, England boss Gareth Southgate said: “I thought it was a common sense decision. Clearly when you score a goal of the quality that he did at the moment he did at the age he is, you are going to have an incredible rush of adrenaline.
Felix Zwayer will oversee England’s clash with the Netherlands (
Image:
Getty Images)
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“I think there was no intent in the gesture towards anybody other than the communication he has with his family. So from our perspective, we thought it was a sensible outcome.
“I speak to players all the time. I don’t feel a particular need to spend time with Jude on that. He is aware of the investigation and he is an intelligent guy.”
Bellingham had said the gesture was “an inside-joke gesture towards some close friends who were at the game”. But that excuse did not satisfy UEFA’s decision makers.
